Death's Embrace: Curse of the Necromantic Orb
by Zero-Three
Summary: Years after the galaxy had been rescued from the grip of the Holy Nightmare Corporation, Kirby and his friends face a new threat like never before. A powerful entity has come to Popstar wielding a power even Nightmare himself could not control; death itself. (Hoshi no Kaabi/Kirby: Right Back At Ya universe, OC Villain)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A few months ago while editing another fic on this site, I accidentally deleted the first chapter of this and had to rewrite it by memory. Since people have PMed me about it, I rewrote the first chapter in order to republish it and plan to finish off the remaining chapters as well. This story is Halloween themed and rated T for graphic/gory content! **

"Come on, guys!" Bun cried as he, Kirby, and a gaggle of Cappy children ran up the steps to Pupu Village's brand new museum.

"Careful, guys! Don't run too fast up the stairs or you could fall and get hurt" Fumu chided as she walked behind the younger children, in step with their tour guide Mr. Curio. Despite the children's antics, she was unable to keep the smile from her face.

After many years of campaigning, Pupu village had finally gained its own museum. The building was off-white in color and quite large, crafted from marble and grand in both size and scale. On each side of the base of the steps leading to its front door, two stylized brass statues of King Dedede stood. The only caveat to getting the building approved and funded was that much of the museum housed "evidence" of the Dedede clan's existence in Dreamland, evidence that both Fumu and Mr. Curio were convinced were hoaxes.

Fumu rolled her eyes to the ceiling as the group entered the front door and was immediately greeted with the displays in the expansive Dedede exhibit, filled to the brim with questionable artifacts such as primitive toys, art pieces, and various tools.

"Wow, look at this!" Bun cried, hidden eyes sparkling with excitement as he gawked at a supposedly ancient Dedede hammer.

"Y-yes, the Dedede clan's history is quite fascinating..." Mr. Curio began carefully as he quickly ushered the tour group out of the room. Like Fumu, he wished to steer the children in the direction of real, authentic pieces, many of which he himself had donated from his own private collection.

The group of children walked down a hallway filled with glass displays of taxidermied animals, Curio briefly discussing their biology as they passed by. Bun slowed his pace as he eyed the animal exhibits along the wall. In one glass display, a Whippy cat was posed emerging from fake bushes while a Twizzie tried to escape mid-flight. Behind the two specimens was a painted backdrop of a forest, surrounded by artificial but convincing flora. The dynamic movement of the taxidermied creatures' poses was contrasted by their lifelessness, staring forward with unblinking eyes, trapped in their display case and frozen in place forever. It made Bun uncomfortable.

The next exhibit was devoted to Cappies, covering their ancient history via a row of displayed tools and relics. Fumu's heart began to quicken in excitement. Though not a member of the same species, she was fascinated by the Cappy's history and culture.

"Welcome to the ancient Cappy exhibit!" Mr. Curio proclaimed as they entered the dark brown room. While smaller and less flashy than Dedede's exhibits, all pieces in this room had been verified by Mr. Curio himself. Eager to see everything, the children began to scatter and stare at the various display cases.

"Did you know that there's evidence that Cappies have lived in this region for eons?" Mr. Curio began. "Before settling down and building modern society, our ancient ancestors survived by living in the forest and wearing large mushroom caps on their heads to fool predators. Rumor has it that a few scattered tribes still exist deep in the jungle, living the same way uninterrupted for thousands of years..." he continued, the children tuning out his droning.

"Woah! What's this creepy thing?" Bun exclaimed as he pressed his cheeks to one particular display glass, Kirby doing so next to him.

Among a few other small pieces laid a tiny doll made of wood and clay, a trinket small enough to fit in the palm of their hands. The doll was dark brown and crudely shaped like a Cappy with a mushroom cap on, hollow eyes open wide and mouth frozen in an eternal scream. Something about the doll felt deeply unsettling.

"Why, that's a Capiwa doll. One of very few to survive to this era, in fact" Mr. Curio explained.

"A capi-wha?" asked Bun.

"Capiwas were small Cappy dolls crafted by ancient peoples. A variety of Capiwas existed, serving as effigies, objects of prayer, and even sometimes vessels of magic. This doll in particular was said to be created by a powerful shaman, and rumor has it that it still contains great power. However this little doll has changed hands for centuries without anything supernatural happening, so it's safe to say that it's just a legend."

"Hey, I wanna see!" Iroo cried as he hopped up and down, too short to examine the contents of the display case.

Fumu stepped in with a smile as Mr. Curio blathered on, gently lifting little Iroo up so that he could see what the others were looking at. She was thrilled to see the children take a genuine interest in history.

Later that day, after Fumu and Bun returned home, Fumu cracked open a novel she had been reading while Bun watched a Channel DDD show. A couple of years had passed since Nightmare's demon beasts attacked Popstar, and while Bun was still very much a young boy Fumu was beginning to grow out of her childhood interests and become more interested in romance.

Funu blushed as she read, embarrassed to even be seen with a literary genre she had previously dismissed as tripe. Despite this, she admitted to herself that the books were a guilty pleasure. The book she had chosen followed the adventures of a dashing knight, who had just saved a princess from a terrible monster.

Fumu's green eyes scanned the page as she leaned back, reclining on the family's couch. 'The knight rose to his feet, gently holding the pale, delicate hand of the princess in his gauntlets. The young woman blushed lightly in response, too shy to look her savior in the eye. The handsome man smiled as he leaned closer to her...'

"And then they got closer, and closer, until they kissed! Smooch!" Bun said over Fumu's shoulder.

"BUN!" Fumu cried as she jumped in surprise, red-faced from both anger and embarrassment.

Bun snapped the book up from Fumu and hopped on top of the couch, waving it around teasingly as he laughed at her.

"Ugh, it's so dumb and gross! How can you read this junk? 'Oh, my knight in shining armor!'" Bun teased, wrapping his arms around himself in a mock embrace and making loud kissing noises.

"Bun, you jerk! If you don't stop I'll feed your Super Dee toy to Kirby!" Fumu snapped.

"Pfft" Bun snickered, knowing Fumu was lying. "I'd feed this lovey-dovey book to Kirby for revenge, but it's so sappy he would just throw it back up!"

"Just give it back, Bun. Bun! Mooooom" Fumu whined as Bun hopped off the couch and ran around the room with the novel, clearly enjoying tormenting his sister.

"Behave, children!" Parm called out from another room. "Be quiet - your mother's on the phone, you know!"

Bun sighed and half-tossed the book back to Fumu, who gripped its edges while giving her little brother a death glare. Even if he got in trouble later, the look on his sister's face was worth it.

A sudden, piercing wail rang through the castle's walls, causing both children to stop what they were doing. Fumu and Bun looked at each other with panicked expressions, their sibling rivalry forgotten in an instant as the book slid from Fumu's fingers and hit the floor. The two ran into the room the cry came from.

Fumu and Bun arrived in time to see Memu, their mother, on the phone. She looked pale, her hand shaking violently as she clutched the phone to her earhole.

"Y-yes... yes, I understand. We will make arrangements. Thank you" Memu managed to say, hanging up the phone.

"Honey?" Parm asked as ran into the room and hugged his wife, knowing just from the sound she made that something was terribly wrong. Memu had remained somewhat composed until that moment. She buried her face in her husband's shoulder and began to sob loudly. The two children stood in the doorway, jaws dropped as they witnessed the sudden and dramatic change in their mother's mood.

"Mommy?" Bun asked, his own voice quivering.

Memu was unable to speak for several seconds as she cried, Parm gently leading her to the livingroom so she could sit on the couch.

"What's the matter?" Parm asked gently.

Memu looked up, eyes red and mascara -stained tears running down her cheeks as she tried to find her voice.

"It's grandpa Lumu. He's... he's gone."

All three family members gasped.

"Old Lu? Oh honey, I'm so sorry..." Parm said gently as he sat on the couch next to Memu and held her in his arms.

"Grandpa? No. NO!" Bun screamed before bursting into tears as well, head held down and shoulders shaking.

Fumu and Bun ran to their parents on the couch, clinging to Memu. The family cried together.

Roughly one week later, Fumu's family as well as a few village residents stood outside in attendance at grandfather Lumu's funeral. After debating with herself for minutes, Fumu finally found the courage to look into her grandfather's open casket. His eyes were closed and his arms were draped across his chest, dressed in his finest suit.

"It just... it looks like he's just taking a nap. You know?" Bun managed to say.

Fumu nodded, throat choked with tears. Being at a funeral had forced her to come to terms with the fact that her dear grandfather, the man who read to her and taught her fishing and chess, was gone forever. She would rather have had her last memory of her grandpa be of him smiling, laughing and alive - now all she could see was his body, devoid of warmth, a cold and waxy husk.

Old Moso the mailman stood up to the podium, clearing his throat before beginning the funeral proceedings. "Greetings, everyone. We are all gathered here today to mourn the passing of a wonderful man, a dear friend to many and a pillar of Pupu Village..."

From an overlook nearby, three armored figures stood and watched the funeral from a distance.

"Those poor kids..." Sword said quietly.

"Yeah. To lose someone special at such a young age..." Blade added.

Meta Knight stood in front of Sword and Blade, closest to the cliff edge as he looked down at the group of mourners. His emotionless yellow eyes slowly rose back to a neutral position before he turned with a whirl of his cape, walking down the overlook. He passed Sword and Blade, pausing briefly.

"It never gets easier" the Star Warrior stated. He then walked off, Sword and Blade falling into step behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Months passed since the death of grandpa Lumu. Memu grieved the hardest, having lost her father whom she was very close to. Fumu and Bun grieved in their own different ways; Fumu withdrew further, sequestering herself in a world of books to avoid the pain of the outside world. The usually boisterous and energetic Bun grew silent, mumbling and drawing circles in the sand with a stick instead of playing with his friends. Kirby noticed the change in his two friends and felt deeply distressed; though he was older than when Nightmare's demon beasts plagued the land, he was still too young to fully process the finality of death.

Months passed, and summer faded into autumn. Though the change was less obvious in the tropical climate of Dreamland, a faint chill could still be felt in the air. The graveyard where grandpa Lumu and other respected members of Pupu Village laid remained undisturbed, save for the diligent groundskeeper raking away stray leaves.

Night fell across Dreamland. Meta Knight curled up in his blanket, resting peacefully even with his armor on. His eyes were dimmed out entirely within the mask, gloved hands draped limply over his blanket. A tiny light appeared in the darkness of his window. A single, glowing eye popped open. Ever alert, Meta Knight was such a light sleeper that the slightest change to his environment would wake him up. The eerie light was bright enough to bother him. He rolled over in bed to silently glance at it further, yellow eyes fixed on the odd pinpoint of light that shone through his window.

"That's no moon..." Meta Knight thought to himself as he stared. "No star, either..."

Meta Knight suddenly sat up as he clutched his blanket, heart leaping to his throat. That was the light of a ship.

A large, triangular ship hovered over the Pupu Village graveyard. With a soft hiss it landed close by to the headstones, landing gear extending to allow the state-of-the-art vessel to make a remarkably quiet and precise landing. The silver ship's doors slid open; a round, red-skinned figure stood in its doorway.

"At last..." A deep, smooth baritone voice uttered. "After eons of searching, I have finally found it."

Green pinpoint eyes glowed from behind a skull-shaped mask that looked much like that of an Ax Knight. Decorative white triangular spaulders, shaped vaguely like folded wings, augmented the figure. On his back grew two long wings, broad and square in shape like that of a vulture's. In one hand he held a single staff, carved of bone.

"The Capiwa doll is here, somewhere in this little village. I may have to tear apart every single building to find it, but it's here. Damnable Cappies. How could such a weak and worthless species infest more planets than just Popstar? They're all over Floria...I should have checked this backwater planet sooner."

The armor-clad figure stepped down the ramp to exit his ship. Upon his leaving, the ship disappeared from view with a wavy, mirage-like ripple as it shut off its lights and activated its cloaking mechanism. The winged creature strode through the graveyard, running a fingerless gloved hand over the evenly-spaced, dusty tombstones as he walked.

"The Capiwa doll is the key to obtaining what I really need...the Necromantic Orb. Only the Capiwa's spirit-warding powers can protect me from..."

The warrior stopped, looking downwards at his own hand. He slipped one glove off, revealing a rounded, fingerless arm much like Kirby's. The arm, however, looked vastly different. It was withered, atrophied, necrotic, skin sagging lifelessly over the remnants of the flimsy cartilage arm "bone" his species had as a limb structure. It looked as if he had suffered a terrible disease; as if a part of his body had died. With a growl the skull-masked figure slipped his glove back on, flexing his damaged palm.

"It will protect me from the Orb itself."

The creature's glowing green eyes dimmed behind his mask as he closed them, remembering what happened. The moment he thought his magic powerful enough to defy the Orb's protection, the moment he ignored the warnings legends had of the Orb stealing the life-force of anyone fool enough to touch it. His withered, nearly useless hand was the result of touching it for a split second; if it wasn't for his quick reflexes, the Orb would have rapidly sucked away his entire life-force and killed him. He needed protection in the form of a powerful spirit ward. This particular Capiwa doll was fabled as the strongest ward in the galaxy, though despite the object changing hands many times over the years, no one had figured out how to unlock its power. The knowledge of how to create such powerful magic artifacts had been lost to the Cappies for centuries, and the Capiwa's past owners figured that the odd clay figurine was merely an object shrouded in myth, a curiosity.

He grinned at the thought of their ignorance, how freely the Cappies passed on such a powerful relic. Of course they could not unlock its true power. They were not necromancers.

The armor-clad figure lifted his bone staff upwards with his good arm and waved it in the air, performing an incantation. His eyes glowed brighter as the staff began to radiate a blue energy.

"Rise...rise, and find me the Capiwa!"

At once, the graveyard's headstones began to shift and rattle. The dirt began to move. A repeated dull banging was heard from the buried coffins before the doors were ripped apart by corpses, newly possessed by unnatural strength. One by one the bodies of the graveyard rose from their resting places, each in various states of decay. Body after body rose, one raining maggots as it pushed itself out of its grave by the forearms. The shambling corpses rattled to life, the stench of death filling the air.

The staff-wielding warrior watched with glee, eyes shining blue with joy. He knew that the Capiwa doll was here due to his ship's readings, but he was unsure of its exact location. The fragmented memories of the villagers, all of whom had some form of recollection, would serve him well as they carried out his unholy request. If any of the bodies had seen the Capiwa in their lives, they would be able to lead him to the same location in undeath.

A number of bodies shifted, contorting in unnatural angles as they began to head Northeast towards the Pupu Village Museum.

"They know...they know!" the masked creature crowed triumphantly. He spread his black, vulture-like wings and took off, soaring above them as he kept an eye on his risen tools to see where they were headed.

Meta Knight looked out the window of his room, eyes darting back and forth. He noticed that the light had begun to blink and set lower; he knew from many years in the Galaxy Soldier Army that the lighting had the unmistakable pattern of a landing ship. He quickly darted out of his room, rousing Sword and Blade and explaining the situation to them. After a moment's hesitation, he chose to awaken Fumu as well. Meta Knight knew that although she was no warrior, her intelligence would be equally valuable in finding out what was going on. Bun followed his sister as the four dashed out of the castle.

"If it really is a ship, who knows what will come out of it? We have to get Kirby!" Fumu exclaimed as they stepped outside of the castle's doors.

Meta Knight nodded in agreement. "Sword. Blade. Follow Fumu and Bun as they fetch Kirby, then meet me by where that strange light is coming from."

Without another word Meta Knight crouched low on the ground, jumping into the air as his cape rippled and spread apart into two draconic wings. His light body lifted off easily, dark form arcing in the air and quickly becoming invisible in the night sky.

"Yes, Sir!" Sword and Blade said in unison. They turned to the two siblings, who proceeded towards Kirby's house.

The four made it to Kirby's house as quickly as possible, panting from the effort. Sword charged forward and kicked the door open. A yellow blur shot out the window, squawking in protest. Tokkori wheeled around to glare at the others angrily.

"What in Dynablade's name are you doing?! Don't you know what time it is? That is so rude of-"

"No time" Blade interrupted briskly. "Need Kirby."

Tokkori landed on a branch in the tree that grew next to the home, cheeks red with rage beneath his yellow feathers. A moment later a sleepy pink creature stood in the doorway, rubbing his eye with one hand and holding a star-patterned blanket in the other.

"Sword? Blade?" Kirby murmured, words slurred with sleepiness as his blue eyes swept across the group.

"Kirby, wake up!" Fumu cried. "We need you right away! Some kind of ship has landed close to the village."

Kirby's gaze immediately hardened, snapping to attention.

"Warp Star!" Kirby called into the night sky.

Fumu couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched Kirby call for Warp Star himself. Although still very young and with a limited vocabulary, he was far more independent than when he first landed in their little village. He was able to call upon Warp Star himself, speak the names of his friends, and communicate simple ideas – roughly the equivalent vocabulary of Fumu's own species when they were age 3 or 4.

Within seconds Warp Star arrived, answering the call of its master. It blew through the tree Kirby sometimes nested in, causing Tokkori to take to the air again in fear, before the star hovered obediently by the feet of Kirby. Kirby hopped on and looked at the others, brows furrowed in determination, as he gave them a quick wave of his arm to indicate that they should join him. Sword, Blade, Fumu and Bun crawled onto the Star. After he was sure his passengers were secure Kirby took off, pushing his vehicle as quickly as it could go without knocking all of his friends off from the momentum.

Tokkori watched them go, Warp Star rocketing into the sky until it was nothing but a tiny dot. He cursed three different ways under his breath as he hopped to the ground, walking back into Kirby's house.

"Troublemakers! Good riddance." the bird huffed, slamming Kirby's door behind him.

Kirby squinted into the night sky; no sooner had Warp Star gained enough altitude to leave the meadow's treeline did he see the odd light the others were concerned about. As he sped towards the source of the light, however, it suddenly winked out. Kirby's pace on Warp Star slowed nearly to a stop as he looked around, puzzled.

"It's gone!" Blade cried.

"This is getting weirder and weirder" Bun commented.

"Kirby" Fumu said, "Keep heading towards where the light was. We need to make sure Sir Meta Knight's okay."

Kirby blinked. "Sir Meta Knight!" he cried, Warp Star responding to his will and resuming its quick pace towards where the light came from.

Meta Knight landed a short distance away from the light, choosing his landing place carefully so that he could sneak up to the light source without giving away his position. He watched the light suddenly wink out of view while he crept forward, wrapped up in his cape. He paused, looking up silently. His yellow eyes narrowed as he scanned the night sky; there was no ship to be found. Either it had departed for space, or it had utilized a cloaking mechanism to hide itself. Meta Knight continued to advance towards where the light once was last seen.

Meta Knight stopped suddenly, withdrawing his radiant sword Galaxia as a bright light hurtled towards him from the sky at a rapid speed; he relaxed and sheathed his weapon as he recognized the shape of the object as Warp Star. Kirby and his friends landed nearby to Meta Knight, Kirby tumbling off the vehicle before anyone else as he ran up to the older Star Warrior.

"Sir Meta Knight!" Kirby cried, jumping for joy in relief to see that he was okay.

"Kirby." Meta Knight addressed him, dipping his head in a terse nod. He then turned to face the others, who were still climbing off of Warp Star.

"The light's gone..."

Fumu nodded. "We noticed, Sir. We should still head to where it was, I think, and see if anything is different there."

Meta Knight nodded. He fell into step behind Kirby and Fumu, who walked towards where they believed the light source was. It was not long before they realized they were heading towards Pupu Village's sole graveyard. The hair on Bun's neck stood up as he grimaced.

"The graveyard? Oh no" Bun moaned.

Fumu said nothing, but nodded her head in grim agreement. As they approached the graveyard, a horrible smell hit them. One by one they paused in their tracks, shaking the heads and covering their noses.

"Ugh! What IS that?!" Fumu cried.

"Nooo" Kirby whimpered, a hand covering the space between his eyes and mouth.

Meta Knight's head lifted at the scent as his eyes began to take on a green tinge. "Death."

Bun held his breath as they trudged on, his pace slowing as he felt a growing fear claw at him. He let his breath go instinctively to yell, pointing at the ground with a single quivering finger.

"T-t-the graves! They're empty!"

Meta Knight stooped down, Sword and Blade doing so by nearby headstones, to examine what Bun was talking about. Every single grave in the yard had been disturbed somehow, many leaving upturned dirt and roots with shallow pits. Maggots and other insects wormed their way through the soil.

Meta Knight's eyes glowed an even brighter green as he examined the disturbed graves. He rose slowly, eyes again trained towards the sky. Seeing nothing, he looked back down and faced the others.

"Something is seriously wrong" Meta Knight remarked.

"This is unbelievable. No way." Bun rambled fearfully.

"I'm leaning towards an elaborate prank. Dead bodies don't just hop out of the soil and go for a walk" Fumu stated, hands on her hips as she tried to hide her failing confidence.

"Even the biggest prankster on the planet wouldn't be crazy enough to dig up a bunch of dead bodies...would they?" Sword asked. Blade put a hand behind his helmeted head, rubbing his neck as he looked around at the scene in confusion.

Meta Knight's eyes darted back and forth, surveying the group.

"We should conduct a canvass of the local area." Meta Knight stated, deep voice level despite the disturbing scene before them. "Let's split up into two groups. Sword. Blade. Follow me – we can check the perimeter of the graveyard. Kirby, you go with Fumu and Bun into the village."

Fumu put her hands on her elbows, shivering in fear. She didn't like the idea of splitting up, and it was plain from Bun's grimace that neither did he. However, she knew that with Kirby on their side the two would be as safe as possible.

Kirby nodded silently, still clearly put off by the awful sickly-sweet smell that hung over them. He, Fumu and Bun turned to walk the short distance down the hill to where Pupu Village began. After watching them leave, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade walked in the opposite direction and quickly disappeared into the moonless night.


	3. Chapter 3

Fumu, Bun and Kirby walked into Pupu Village. The village had no streetlamps; the lit torch Meta Knight gave the party was the only thing allowing them to see. The three moved forward past rows of deceptively peaceful homes and closed storefronts, Kirby bravely walking forward into the darkness while Fumu and Bun timidly crept behind him. The three made their way through the town, wandering aimlessly; their only goal was to see if anything was amiss. However, Pupu Village appeared the same as it always did. Being a small and quiet town, most stores were closed with the sun's setting with a few exceptions such as Samo's bar. It was so late at night that one could call it technically call it early in the morning and be correct; even the bar had closed. It was quiet save for the slow, steady chirp of a stray cricket.

The group suddenly heard a strange crunching noise. They stopped at once, backs pressed against each other as Bun held the shaky torch up high in the air.

"Hey! We see you, and we're not afraid!" Bun lied, hand holding the torch shaking so much that the flame whipped back and forth above them.

A figure erratically made its way past them, black shadow barely visible at the edge of the torch's light. It was too far from the torch to see who it was. Bun nearly dropped the torch in fear as the figure startled them.

"H-hey! Wait up! Stop!" Fumu cried. The silhouette looked like a Cappy, and she feared for the safety of anyone wandering the streets of Pupu Village at night after the strange event they witnessed.

The figure paused. It then turned, moving towards the group. Fumu and Bun's eyes grew wide in terror as the figure approached the torchlight. The smell of death filled their noseholes just as it did in the graveyard, the creature clearly rotting. Barely visible in the flickering torch's light was a thin trail of blood and bile that had been leaking out of the bloated body as it shambled forward. The creature leaned in to look at them with empty eye sockets, top lip rotted away to give the Cappy a permanent grimace. It was a walking corpse.

"ZOMBIE!" Fumu screamed.

Bun threw the torch at the figure uselessly, the fire landing at its feet before winking out. The two children began to run away blindly, flailing their arms and screaming in panic. Kirby shivered but held his ground, holding his arms outward and facing the rotting corpse head on. The creature leaned forward, opening its blackened mouth. Kirby trembled but stayed still, ready to fight the horror before him in order to protect his friends.

The zombie continued to advance with its mouth open before stopping suddenly. The top half of its body slowly slid to the ground with the sound similar to a dropped garbage bag, rotting organs and blood spilling out of the body. Behind the sagging halves of the body stood Meta Knight, his golden sword wet with the monster's blood. Kirby stepped back a few paces, both hands on his mouth; the smell of the freshly-exhumed corpse's rotting organs being eviscerated in front of him was almost too much for even his strong stomach.

Meta Knight held up his own torch in his other hand, the light casting stark shadows on his mask and armor.

"Kirby, quickly! Inhale this. Stabbing the undead will do no good; they must be burned to ash!"

Kirby's green-tinged face paled further at the thought of having to open his mouth and inhale over a dead body, but he understood what Meta Knight was saying. He reluctantly opened his mouth, using force of will to inhale instead of vomit as Meta Knight threw the torch at him.

The torch disappeared into Kirby's mouth; within seconds, his skin turned dark red as a crown of flame leaped to life on his head. He had become Fire Kirby.

Fire Kirby watched in horror as the two body halves next to him began to squirm. A shaky rotting hand reached out as the upper torso lurched towards him, leaving a trail of organs behind in its wake as the undead Cappy's head turned to look at Kirby with the same lifeless, toothy grimace. Fire Kirby screamed and hopped back a pace before blowing a column of flame at the zombie, the reach of his flame so wide that Meta Knight had to leap out of the way to avoid being burned himself. The corpse quickly became engulfed in frames. A low, shuddering voiceless rattle erupted from it as its rotting flesh began to crackle and blacken. Kirby blew fire with all of his might, using his powerful lungs to their fullest; he never wanted something to stop moving so badly in his life. Finally, after seconds of prolonged exposure to flame, the charred corpse stopped moving. It grew still.

Fire Kirby held a hand to his hammering heart, catching his breath. He then began to look around frantically; Fumu and Bun had run out of his sight as they panicked. He felt his own fear grow at the thought of the two children running through the dangerous streets, alone and helpless. It was not long before their screams rang through the roadway, alerting Fire Kirby to their location. Fire Kirby sprinted off so fast that flames licked his heels, dark thoughts of the zombies dragging the helpless children away haunting him.

Fire Kirby soon found Fumu and Bun. Sword, Blade and Meta Knight stood in front of them, hacking away at a growing crowd of zombies. Their swords uselessly cut through the flesh of the creatures as the animated corpses pressed forward without a pause, unhindered by mortal wounds. Kirby balled his fingerless hands into fists as he charged forward, body engulfed in flames as he dove right into the crowd of undead bodies. The creatures hissed as the burning contacted them, shambling back. Kirby whipped his head around and rapid-fired balls of fire into the undead horde, torching them all one at a time. They quickly became engulfed in flames, one catching fire on another as they were all pressed together. They moaned and writhed in place as Meta Knight grabbed the two children by the hands and led them away, Sword and Blade quickly running after them before the growing fire engulfed them all.

Fire Kirby dove through his own flames a few moments later, having made sure that every undead monstrosity was charred beyond recognition. He ran to catch up with his friends, who were standing some distance away. Fumu looked at the small red-skinned creature as he approached, throwing her arms around him in a big hug.

"Thank you, Kirby." Fumu said in a shaky voice. "You're a lifesaver."

Fire Kirby hugged her back, eyes squeezed shut and grimacing. "Scary" he squeaked.

Bun ran his fingers through his own hair, doing his best to mask his own fear now that the immediate danger was over. "That's a massive understatement" he quipped.

Meta Knight's glowing eyes shifted to one side. He leaned forward, cupping one gloved hand to an earhole.

"We aren't done", the masked veteran stated grimly. "Hear that? They're gathering over there."

The others strained their ears. Sure enough, the sounds of faint shuffling and moaning could be heard a short distance away.

"That sounds like...no way. The museum?!" Fumu asked incredulously.

"At least they're not breaking into random homes to attack villagers" Sword noted.

"Small comfort" Bun retorted. "They almost got us back there!"

Meta Knight shook his head. "I do not believe they are acting on free will. They appear to be drawn there for some reason. We need to investigate. Kirby...get ready."

Fire Kirby nodded, the crown of fire on his head growing higher in response. He didn't care if he had to stay up all night burning zombies; this was wrong. It was a violation of life and nature. They needed to be destroyed, every single one of them.

The five crept towards the zombies, pausing at a distance safe enough for the children to escape but close enough for the warriors to push forward. All six gaped at the sight; before them stood bodies in various stages of decay, their normally brown-skin tinged green and black with rot, many with bones and organs clearly visible. Every single body was trying to shove its way into the museum, pushing into other zombies in its rush to enter first. The smell of death, which was more subtle before, was unbelievably strong from nearly all of the graveyard's corpses being gathered in one place. There was a sudden crash that caused everyone present to jump; one by one, the zombies disappeared into the museum after having apparently broken down its door.

Fire Kirby had enough. He launched himself forward, burning a fiery path into the museum. One by one the animated corpses melted into a pile of charred limbs and flesh, their unarmored civilian bodies having no defense against Kirby's flame. The others quickly followed behind him, Fumu and Bun shutting their eyes in terror as they ran through the wounded horde.

Inside the museum, nothing was on but a security light and several exit signs. The group continued to pass by undead monsters that appeared to be milling about, seemingly randomly scattered throughout the museum. Fire Kirby dispatched the individual zombies easily, finding it curious that they were not aggressive like the ones outside were. It was almost as if they were distracted. At one point, the group stopped at the sight of a uniformed body which was found lying face down.

"Kirby, did you get this one?" Sword asked.

Fire Kirby shook his head no in response.

Meta Knight leaned forward, examining the body. "This body is not undead", he stated after standing closer to the body than anyone else dared to. "It is a victim."

Fumu lowered her head. "Must have been the museum guard...poor guy."

"May he rest well" Blade stated, looking away.

Meta Knight's gaze hardened. "Let's finish this before they claim anyone else."

The others nodded in unison, traveling deeper into the museum. After a while, Fumu noticed that one museum light was on.

"Hey guys, look. The light's on in that room." Fumu stated, motioning the others over with a wave of her hand.

Bun's jaw dropped slowly. "Hey, Sis...isn't this where that ancient Cappy exhibit was?"

"Wow...good catch, Bun. I think you're right" Fumu responded, raising an eyebrow.

The group cautiously approached the lit room. Meta Knight and Kirby stood at either side of the door way. Their eyes met; they gave a single nod to each other. The two charged into the room at the same time, squinting as the bright light hit their eyes. In the room was a horde of undead, all swarming around one particular display and pounding on the glass. They did not seem to even notice or care about the presence of the two Star Warriors.

Meta Knight tore his gaze away from the disturbing sight to see another figure. Standing on top of another glass display case, his bone staff glowing, was the skull-masked figure responsible for raising the dead.

Meta Knight's eyes turned scarlet as he whipped out Galaxia, the tip of his blade pointing at the figure.

"YOU." he snarled.

The rounded figure, looking much like Kirby and Meta Knight himself, turned to look at the two. He began to laugh, eerie deep voice echoing through the large, domed room.

"Sir Meta Knight!" The winged creature addressed him in a disturbingly friendly tone. "Fancy seeing you here! I thought you died long ago."

Meta Knight's fists quivered with rage. "I had hoped the same fate befell you, Necromancer."

The round creature's green eyes dimmed behind his mask. "Charming as always, you old bastard. I wasn't expecting this village to contain anything but pantywaist Cappies, but you won't be able to stop me anyway. Push harder!" He cried to the undead horde, the tip of his bone staff glowing a bright blue.

"What is he-" Meta Knight wondered aloud, his thoughts interrupted by a loud crash as the display case toppled forward from the force of dozens of bodies pushing it. The glass shattered, the relics contained within scattering across the room in all directions.

The Capiwa figure, which remarkably remained intact despite its fall, was quickly scooped up by the Necromancer. His eyes shone blue with happiness as he held the coveted relic, cradling it to his body in the crook of his other arm.

"The Capiwa? All of this was over that thing?!" Bun exclaimed.

The Necromancer looked up, staring at Bun with his cold eyes until the boy flinched. "Fools." he sneered. "You have no idea the power this artifact contains."

The Necromancer turned to face Meta Knight. "I should eliminate you, Meta Knight, and your two worthless goons while feeding the children to my friends here" he said, gesturing to the undead who had frozen in place like automatons upon their 'mission' being completed. "However, I have work to do. With this in my hands, I can now get what I truly want."

The Necromancer spread his broad, black wings and flew through the large room towards the doorway. Meta Knight charged after him with his sword out, but the zombies quickly reacted at the threat to their master and attacked him all at once.

"One way or another, you will all die soon", the Necromancer stated smugly, landing in the doorway beyond the wall of bodies and looking over his winged shoulder. "When the Orb is in my hands, there will not be a single living soul left on Popstar."

"Farewell" the Necromancer stated with a flit of his wings.

"Get back here! Monster!" Meta Knight cried, slashing his sword frantically to try and clear a path through the horde of risen Cappies that clawed at his cloak and armor.

"Sir!" Fire Kirby cried. He then blew fire into the crowd, searing the rotting flesh off the zombie's bones in the same way he had done outside earlier. The enclosed room began to fill with smoke and flame, the fire quickly catching on fragile paper artifacts and paintings. Sword, Blade, Fumu and Bun ran out of the room the second they had space to, choking from the smoke. Kirby and Meta Knight stood back, Meta Knight's slashing slowing the undead mob slightly by lopping off limbs while Fire Kirby finished them all off by bathing the corpses in flame. The two Star Warriors were soon forced to retreat as well, the smoke's fumes choking them.

The group ran out of the museum, scrambling over charred corpses as they desperately tried to escape the burning building. They stood outside the museum's smoking entrance, gasping for air. Fumu felt her heart sink as she watched the museum go up in flames; many priceless artifacts and pieces of history, almost exclusively donated by Curio, were being destroyed before her very eyes. Fire Kirby stood forward, facing the museum with his deep blue eyes trained onto the its ruined front doorway. If anything undead tried to escape, he would douse it in fire.

In time, a single silhouette lurched forward from the flames. Its shape was noticeably rounder than that of a Cappy, though it still had a taller and slimmer build than Kirby's species. Fire Kirby took a deep breath when Fumu's piercing cry startled him out of attacking.

"Bun...grandpa! It's grandpa!"

"No! No, no, no, not like this" Bun whimpered, tears rolling past his bangs and down his cheeks.

The figure lurching towards the group was none other than the resurrected corpse of grandpa Lumu. His eyes rotted out of his skull, his hair and beard wild and matted, his lips partially rotted away, the decayed body lurched forwards while still attired in the same formal garb he had worn to his own funeral. The sight was too much for Fumu. She fell to her knees, overcome by fear and horror. Bun stood transfixed, silent as tears poured down his cheeks, too overwhelmed to move.

Meta Knight's eyes flickered as he watched the vision of the children's loved one, corrupted, lurching towards Fumu and Bun with deadly intent as if it had stepped out of their nightmares. The sight of the children being tortured by a twisted perversion of their beloved family member bothered him more than all of the gory sights he had witnessed earlier.

"Stars Above" Meta Knight hissed at the sight, flinging his cape around himself with one arm while the other held out Galaxia.

The masked Star Warrior turned to Kirby, eyes taking on a gray tinge as he spoke sorrowfully. "Kirby. End their pain."

Kirby did not understand why the children reacted so differently to this zombie, who looked just the same to him as the others, but he knew from everyone's strong reaction that it needed to be put to rest. He blew a torrent of flame at the corpse, who still continued to push forward mindlessly even as Kirby roasted it. The shambling corpse's movements slowed, fire catching onto his beard and clothes as his rotting flesh began to slough off from the heat. Fumu looked up, eyes widened in horror; the image of her relative's animated corpse shambling towards her, burning to pieces, was seared into her mind forever. Grandpa Lumu finally fell over, unable to continue moving under the assault of Kirby's fire. Neither Fumu or Bun moved after he fell; they stayed in place, transfixed, too traumatized to move. Sword and Blade ran over to comfort them, Sword giving Fumu a hug while Blade put his arm around Bun's shoulder.

"It's okay, guys." Sword said soothingly. "It's over."

"No...no, it's not" Fumu responded, her voice barely a whisper.

Meta Knight said nothing. He regarded the two with cold, yellow eyes, his masked face expressionless. He then took to the air, spreading his wings before hovering at his desired altitude while rotating in place slowly. There was no sign of the Necromancer. He was gone.

Meta Knight cursed loudly, swinging Galaxia in the air in a fit of rage. Being a war veteran the sight of anonymous corpses, even those that had come back to life, did not phase him as much as they might other people. However, seeing the pain on the children's faces really brought home how horrible the Necromancer's deeds were. Meta Knight wanted him to pay for what he had done. His thoughts darkened. Death would not be enough for the twisted creature; it would be too kind. Meta Knight wished there was a way to parade the corpses of the Necromancer's lost relatives in front of his face like lifeless meat puppets, just as he did with Lumu's body to Fumu and Bun. Meta Knight's eyes glowed red, scarlet pinpoints glinting like stars in the night sky.

"Nothing, huh?" Blade asked as Meta Knight landed, his wings crumpling and folding into a cape that limply draped around him. Meta Knight shook his head silently in response.

"If those lights were really a ship, and the lights are gone, that means the ship has been cloaked out" Sword said, sighing. "Who knows where he is now?"

Meta Knight looked up, eyes lightening to their neutral yellow tone as he regained his composure.

"I might."


	4. Chapter 4

Kirby, Fumu, Bun, Sword and Blade coasted on Warp Star, Meta Knight flying beside them with his own wings. Kirby made sure his vehicle ran slowly; although Meta Knight was a fast flier, there wasn't a creature alive whose wings could keep up with the supersonic vehicle. The group headed back towards Dedede's castle.

Fumu eyed Meta Knight silently. The stoic Star Warrior never elaborated on what he meant by what he might know regarding the Necromancer's whereabouts; he simply instructed them to return to the castle. After what she had just witnessed, she didn't feel like talking anyway.

Within a few minutes the group landed in the castle's courtyard, by the fountain. One by one Warp Star's passengers slipped off of the vehicle as Meta Knight landed, wings crumpling and reforming into a cape. The group stood in front of the fountain, the quiet courtyard a welcome contrast to the horrors they witnessed earlier.

Fumu worked her jaw as she stared into the fountain. She had the strongest urge to crawl into bed and lay there, even though she wasn't sleepy. She just wanted to shut the world out, to silence the memories constantly replaying in her mind; her grandfather, the fire…

Fumu suddenly felt a small, warm form pressed against her. Kirby, sensing her distress, leaned in to give the troubled girl a hug. Fumu smiled warmly as she looked down at the small, pink creature; he seemed to always know how to make her feel better.

Fumu looked to Meta Knight. "You said you might know where the Necromancer is, Sir?"

Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape, regarding the group.

"Yes" he began. "He mentioned an orb… I believe I know what he is talking about, and where it is."

Bun shook his head slightly, trying in vain to clear his mind of the same traumatic memories that haunted Fumu. He managed to speak after a few seconds. "Sir, it sounds like you and that guy knew each other."

Meta Knight glanced upwards. After a brief pause, he replied "Indeed we did, at one time."

He threw his cape aside, one gloved hand clenched into a fist. "I will have to tell you about that later, though. If what I believe is true, he is heading towards the Necromantic Orb right now. If we do not stop him, his powers will be magnified beyond our imagining. All will be lost."

Meta Knight turned, facing the fountain. A gloved hand withdrew a small remote from the depths of his cape, pushing the remote's single button. The fountain slowly split into two halves, sprinkles of water cascading onto the ground from the tip of each half. The split fountain revealed a doorway leading down into a dark chamber, a flight of poorly-lit stairs descending into the darkness.

Fumu rubbed her chin thoughtfully, startled out of her dark thoughts by Meta Knight opening the chamber. "Here again?" she asked the Star Warrior. "Are we going on a trip?"

Meta Knight nodded. With a gloved hand, he gestured to the others with a wave. "Follow me."

The group began to descend downstairs, into the tunnel. The entranceway to the massive complex underneath Dedede's castle never ceased to amaze Fumu. As the group walked, she jogged quickly down the staircase until she was next to Meta Knight.

"Sir, where are we going? And without the Halberd…how?"

Behind her back, she heard Sword chuckle slightly. "Oh, don't worry" he said behind her. "We still have a way to travel."

Meta Knight gave a single nod in response to Sword's comment, eyes staring fixedly ahead of him. Fumu rubbed the back of her neck, deeply curious as to how Meta Knight and his two minions had the ability to travel ever since his enormous battleship had been destroyed. She wondered what else he was keeping from her.

In time, the group reached the large elevator at the base of the stairs. Bun stepped onto the platform gingerly, lagging behind the others; he knew that the elevator had the strength to carry a large group of Cappies on it, so 6 people would not come anywhere near its weight limit. Despite this he still had dark fantasies of the elevator suddenly malfunctioning, dropping them all suddenly and plunging everyone to their death.

"You're being silly" Bun chided himself as he stepped onto the platform last. "Don't be a baby."

Bun glanced over at Kirby, the literal baby of the group, who had enthusiastically bounded down the stairs like a child on Christmas morning and hopped onto the platform first. He knew an adventure was coming and was excited at the prospect of travel.

After making sure everyone was onboard with a quick head count, Meta Knight pressed a blue button on the elevator. The platform began to descend into the darkness, the sound of rickety ropes and gears grinding filling the ears of the group.

Eventually, the elevator landed. The group filed out slowly, Bun first, as they walked into the enormous chamber that once housed the Halberd. To the three children's surprise a different ship stood there, bathed in the lights of the chamber.

Bun began to grin as he walked towards it slowly. "Wow…cool!" he exclaimed. Kirby hopped forward as well, equally impressed.

Before them stood a ship, a weathered bronze in color with gold accents. The ship was long and thin in shape, its front cabin bulging forward and ending in a pointed tip under its flight deck. The sleek design tapered off at the rear into an engine pod, which sat above the ship's main engines. Towards the rear of the ship, by its main engines, sat two triangular gold-trimmed wings. Fumu realized that staring directly above or below the ship the positioning of the wings made the vessel look like the ship was a sword, with the wings as crossguards and the thin rear engines as a pommel. The ship was about as long as two schoolbuses put together; an adequate size for the small group, but comparatively tiny compared to the Halberd.

"Behold" Meta Knight stated, gesturing towards the vessel. "The Makhaira."

"A fitting name" Fumu mused, tilting her head slightly as she eyed the ship. Much like the Halberd was named after a type of axe, the Makhaira was named after an ancient type of sword.

Fumu turned to glance at Meta Knight. "Sir, how did you procure such a thing?"

"The Halberd housed several smaller ships within it" Meta Knight responded. "We removed one of them before preparing the ship for Nightmare's battle, just in case the Halberd was rendered inoperable."

"Good call" Bun muttered.

Kirby ran up to the Makhaira and bounced up and down, clearly excited at the prospect of riding it. "Come on!" he cried, beckoning the others over.

Meta Knight nodded silently, walking forward. "Kirby's right. There's no time for talking; the Necromancer is probably already in space by now. We have to go."

The five others fell in step behind Meta Knight, entering the Makhaira through an entrance door that slid open for them. The ship's interior was a cold and intimidating gray, with a simple flight deck comprised of two seats for its pilots and no other rooms. The main cabin was a long, cramped space directly behind the flight deck, consisting of six seats and a narrow aisle. At the end of the aisle was a door leading to the combined space of limited storage and a tiny, closet-sized restroom. Fumu realized once she was inside how much of the ship's room must have been taken up by the engines; it would be cramped even for six people.

Sword and Blade each sat in the pilot's seats, Meta Knight and the others sitting in the passenger compartment. Bun hopped into the chair enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air as Kirby climbed into the seat beside him.

"Alright, cool! So when we take off, how long before we hit warp speed?"

Meta Knight looked away in response, remaining silent for an awkward amount of time. "Ah…there will be no warp speed in this trip."

"What?!" Bun exclaimed, slumping into his seat. "No warp speed? But why?"

"Physics" Blade said from his pilot's seat, looking over his armored shoulder.

"The planet we're going to is too close to utilize warp speed" Sword added, not taking his eyes off the controls. "That's for long-distance travel."

"Does a trip between entire planets not count as long distance?" Fumu asked.

"No, not in the context of space travel" Meta Knight replied. "If it's any consolation, the Necromancer cannot use warp speed either. This actually gives us an advantage; we will both be traveling at roughly the same speed this way. It should only be about a day's travel."

Fumu shrugged, making sure that Kirby was safely secured in his own safety harness before sitting down and securing herself in her own seat. "Ah, well…that's not too bad."

Bun grumbled, adjusting his seat harness as he attempted to get comfortable in preparation for takeoff. "As long as that creep doesn't get there first, I guess."

Meta Knight looked away. He knew that the Necromancer had taken off first, and both men knew where the Necromantic Orb was. Even though the group hurried to catch up after him, it was still very likely that he would make landfall first.

"Okay guys, make absolutely sure you're strapped in tight!" Sword shouted as Blade worked the controls. "Don't unbuckle yourselves until we're safely in orbit or you'll get flung into the back of the ship really hard."

Sword and Blade sat in front of a massive console that looked like a mixture between a rocket ship and a passenger plane, a dizzying array of buttons, dials, screens, and radars with different readings spread out before them. Both swordsmen were experienced pilots, but it was still a lot to take in. After Sword's final warning he fell silent, both making sure absolutely everything was perfect and clear for takeoff. Just like when flying a plane within the planet's atmosphere, takeoff and landing were the most dangerous parts of the ride. One mistake could easily kill them all.

Even with the ship's stabilization and gravity controls in place, the G-force mashed everyone onboard uncomfortably into their seats. Meta Knight leaned forward in his harness, one hand braced against his mask to ensure that the intense G-force didn't send it flying off. Fumu and Bun could see nothing, hair whipping into their face so violently that it almost hurt. Kirby was having the time of his life as the ship exited the secret chamber and gained altitude, hands held upwards in the harness as if he were on a roller-coaster.

It did not take long for the Makhaira to exit the ship's atmosphere. Soon, the bright blue skies of Popstar were replaced by the blackness of space.


	5. Chapter 5

After the Makhaira reached its desired height in space and its speed leveled out, Blade gave the group permission to remove their harnesses. One by one the ship's passengers slipped out of their protective straps, standing around and stretching their cramped limbs. Meta Knight wandered over to the main console at the front of the ship, standing between Sword and Blade as they remained seated and monitoring the ship's controls. He silently gazed out of the ship's window, staring out into the void of space. He knew the incredible speeds they were traveling, but it always looked as if they were drifting along slowly.

Meta Knight felt a touch on his spaulder. He turned to see Fumu, who stared at him with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Sir…" Fumu began slowly. "You never did explain where we were actually_ going_."

"Yeah!" Bun chimed in, standing behind his sister. "And what's this orb thing that's so important that the Necromancer had to bust into a museum to get something to help him reach it?"

"Also" Fumu added, "You said you knew this guy at one time. Was he a Star Warrior? Why isn't he on our side?"

Meta Knight tore his gaze away from Fumu to look out onto the stars. He half-considered not answering any of their questions, but until Sword or Blade needed to be relieved of their posts so that Meta Knight could take over piloting the ship in shifts, there was nothing to do but talk anyway.

Meta Knight shouldered his way past Fumu, walking over towards their seats. He looked over his shoulder at the two children's questioning faces, indicating that they should follow him. The three sat down, facing each other in seats across from each other in the aisle. Fumu stood up to beckon Kirby over, as he had followed the children over to the ship's flight cabin and seemed a little too fascinated with the ship's controls.

"Come over, Kirby. Don't mess with anything over there" Fumu said in a firm but gentle tone. "Those controls are not like your old ship."

"Ok!" Kirby said cheerfully, hopping over to where the other three sat. Too filled with energy to sit down, he simply paced back and forth down the aisle and climbed around on the seats farthest away from the group.

Meta Knight exhaled forcefully through his mask, closing his eyes as he organized his thoughts.

"Perhaps I should first explain what the Necromantic Orb is. It is an ancient artifact of great power – the power to grant undeath on a large scale. Legend has it that it could sap the life-force from an entire region in minutes. The Necromantic Orb grants its unlucky victims a fate worse than death. They become undead, slaves to whoever is controlling the Orb at the moment. However, the Orb has been a puzzle for centuries. Many power-hungry fools have tried to touch it, only to become quickly killed. The Necromantic Orb's power cannot just be wielded as one does a weapon; any living being who touches it will instantly have all of their own life-force drained, killing them. That must be why the Necromancer wanted that odd museum artifact – he seems convinced that it could protect him from the Orb's magical defenses, allowing him to wield its power himself."

Fumu and Bun gasped, looking at each other. It did not take much thought to realize how dangerous this would be in the hands of a powerful being who already understood the nature of undeath such as the Necromancer.

"Right now, we're headed towards the planet known as Star's Fall" Meta Knight continued, his voice glum. "It is the site of one of the Galaxy Soldier Army's most massive battles…and losses. That is how the previously unnamed planet earned its moniker. The reason for holding such a large-scale battle there was that both forces were trying to possess the Necromantic Orb for themselves – the Galaxy Solider Army to seal away such evil, and Nightmare to use it for his own ends. We lost, but surprisingly even Nightmare himself could not figure out how to channel the Orb's power. No Demon Beast, no matter how powerful, could touch it without dying almost immediately."

"The being you saw at the museum was not always known as the Necromancer…" Meta Knight's eyes took on a green tinge as he looked upward. "He was once known as Sir Pendragon, one of Sir Arthur's most trusted Star Warriors and a powerful battlemage who fought to protect the well-being of the galaxy."

"You two fought side by side before?" Fumu asked, fascinated.

Meta Knight nodded in response. "Yes. He was once my ally."

"What made him want to turn everyone into zombies, then?" Bun inquired.

Meta Knight lowered his head. "Sir Pendragon watched the Galaxy Soldier Army fall, losing fight after fight as Nightmare gained ground. He wanted more than anything to halt the advance of the Holy Nightmare Corporation, but our numbers were finite whereas Nightmare could keep producing Demon Beasts. One day, Sir Pendragon turned his studies over to the darker arts."

Meta Knight looked up, cold yellow eyes meeting Fumu's gaze. "Such magic was forbidden."

Meta Knight fell silent, closing his eyes behind the mask for a moment. He could remember when it happened, not long after the first massive loss to the Galaxy Soldier Army on the planet of Star's Fall. The memories played in his head, feeling as if they had just occurred rather than taking place many years ago.

Meta Knight remembered standing on the rough, sandy ground of Star's Fall. The strange orangey sky shined over a bleak, deserted landscape devoid of any visible life. There was no trees, no grass, no water. There was zero sign of life, not even the scuttling of insects. This miserable, desolate rock was where they were stationed.

Meta Knight looked to his left. A long white tent was set up, housing the few surviving soldiers after the battle that had taken place. The Galaxy Soldier Army was forced to retreat. Nurses zipped in and out of the tent like bees in a hive, frantically bringing medical supplies back and forth and tending to the large amount of wounded soldiers the best they could. Beyond the lines where Meta Knight stood, in the outskirts of the battlefield, there was a sight even more depressing; death.

The dead bodies of countless Star Warriors laid sprawled about in the rocky plain, rotting under the planet's sun. Some were missing limbs, armor, a collection of haphazard body parts spread across the battlefield. Meta Knight looked at the sight, the color fading from his yellow eyes until they glowed a dim gray with despair.

Sir Arthur emerged from the medical tent, his left arm bloodied and in a bandage. His lavender eyes softened to a gray shade as well, sorrow gripping him. As the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army, he felt fully responsible for the loss of his men.

"So much loss…" Meta Knight murmured. He turned to face Sir Arthur, silvery mask glinting in the orange sunlight. "When will it end?"

Sir Arthur looked away, too filled with sorrow to respond. Hidden behind his armor, a tear rolled down his green cheeks. He had no answer.

The two were startled out of their brooding when a broad-winged figure flew towards them, landing beside the two. The red-skinned creature, clearly a member of Meta Knight and Sir Arthur's species despite being almost completely covered in white armor, bowed low in the presence of his commander.

"Sir Arthur. Sir Meta Knight", he greeted them.

"Sir Pendragon" Arthur stated in response, eyes gleaming blue at the sight of one of his most valuable men. He was relieved that he was unhurt during their last battle.

"Sir Arthur, if I may" Sir Pendragon began as he straightened his posture, "I believe we have a way to defeat Nightmare once and for all!" He stabbed his carved staff into the ground triumphantly as he spoke.

Sir Arthur raised a hidden eyebrow. "Another one of your spells…?"

"You could say that" Sir Pendragon continued. "You see, the Necromantic Orb gave me an idea…Nightmare is winning because he has an inexhaustible supply of Demon Beasts at his command. What we need", Pendragon stated with his eyes beginning to take on a strange glint, "is an inexhaustible army of our own."

Sir Pendragon waved his staff, a blue mist coming off of it. Meta Knight and Arthur both stepped back, unsure of what to expect from the eccentric mage. Their jaws dropped in horror as one of the nearest corpses to them, lying face-up on the ground in a heap of armor, suddenly began to stir. The body shook violently before rolling over, pushing itself to its feet with its one remaining arm. It stood and shambled over to Sir Pendragon, shuffling through the rocks.

The color drained from Meta Knight's eyes as he stood and watched, gaping like a fish. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Arthur's eyes began to darken until they flushed a deep red. With a flash of his golden sword Arthur struck the corpse down, hacking away at it in a rage. The corpse jerked spastically at the assault. At once Pendragon released his hold on the body, the blue energy seeping out of its eyes and mouth before it crumpled into a lifeless heap again. Arthur turned to face Pendragon, eyes glowing a fierce red as he held out his bloodied sword.

"Sir Pendragon…necromancy? You desecrate the memory of our own men by bringing them to life and manipulating them like puppets?! How…how could you?"

"Is it really so wrong, Sir?" Pendragon asked, his own eyes beginning to darken at Arthur's disapproval. "Is it so wrong to take the dead, who feel nothing, and use them against our enemy? The dead have no vices – no need for food or water. No urge to eat or sleep. No pain. No fear. They could literally fight for us until their bodies get destroyed beyond use. They could bolster our numbers. Our fighting force could be doubled, tripled!" His eyes narrowed. "Don't let your morals get in the way of this, Sir Arthur. This is war. War is hell. The only thing honor will do on the battlefield is get you killed."

Arthur shook his head rapidly, Meta Knight glaring silently in response as his hand slowly lowered towards his own weapon.

"We allow nearly all types of warriors within the Galaxy Soldier Army, Sir Pendragon. You know this." Arthur growled, tenor voice rising in anger as he spoke. "You also know that necromancy is forbidden. To use evil magic, to desecrate the honor of our fallen allies by raising them against their will is disgusting. No mortal should have control over death in this way."

Pendragon's gaze hardened, fist gripping his staff tightly. "Is it not the Galaxy Soldier Army's mission to protect the galaxy at all costs? Do you really think soldiers would mind? In death, they can become the ultimate fighting machine. No longer are they tied to mortal fears or emotions. No longer do they have base needs. They exist for no other purpose but to fight. They are fulfilling their mission beyond the grave."

Meta Knight tried to picture himself dying in the battlefield and being resurrected months or even years later as an animated corpse, his rotting body moved by magic and being forced to fight again. The thought shook him so deeply that a shudder raced through him, rattling his armor. Arthur was right. This was wrong.

"And what of their souls?" Arthur shot back. "You'd rather damn them for eternity, denying them the rest they have earned by disturbing them? Or do you plan on enslaving spirits as well?"

"Sir Arthur…" Pendragon said slowly. "You are fool. You will drive the Galaxy Soldier Army into the ground." He turned his back to the two, facing the sun and the field of corpses which baked underneath it.

"The Galaxy Soldier Army and Nightmare's forces have both failed to take their Necromantic Orb into their possession. I will take hold of it myself then, and defeat the Holy Nightmare Corporation alone, if you are too cowardly to make use of this gift."

Sir Pendragon spread his wings, preparing for takeoff.

"Don't you dare!" Sir Arthur cried. He lurched forward towards Sir Pendragon, but was too late; the white-armored Star Warrior had already taken off. In midair Sir Pendragon spun around, laughing with glee as Sir Arthur waved his sword at him uselessly from the ground.

"You cannot stop me. Don't even try, Sir."

With a wave of his staff, Sir Pendragon cast his spell again. This time, however, the spell covered a wide range as it gently floated to the corpse-littered ground. One by one the recently-fallen corpses of the Galaxy Soldier Army's comrades rose, shuffling towards Arthur and Meta Knight with their weapons held high. Arthur stepped back, swinging his sword wildly at the advancing horde. He could not focus on Sir Pendragon; the resurrected warriors could easily dispatch the medical tent full of wounded soldiers if they were not stopped.

"After him!" Sir Arthur cried to Meta Knight, barely having the chance to say anything between attacking the others.

Meta Knight nodded in response and jumped into the air. However, in the split-second it took for his cape to transform into wings, a fallen Star Warrior grabbed him and dragged him backwards down into the writhing mob of bodies. Meta Knight slashed fearfully with his silver rapier, his weapon of choice before he obtained Galaxia. He slashed at the enemy who attacked him, lopping off the hands of the corpse which grabbed his cape. The zombies swarmed around him, clutching his mask, slashing him with swords, beating on his body with clubs and maces…

"Sir?"

Meta Knight turned, wide-eyed in horror, as he watched members of the undead army filter through Arthur and Meta Knight. A good number of them had escaped the blades of the two Star Warriors, crawling towards the medical tent…

"SIR!"

Meta Knight's eyes snapped open. Before him stood Fumu and Bun, frowning with concern. Even Kirby watched him nervously, one hand to his mouth.

Meta Knight felt his heart hammer against his chest. He was sweating. The veteran quickly wrapped his cape around himself, mask hiding his expression as he glanced at the three.

"Sorry…I must have dozed off or something" he mumbled.

Fumu rubbed her own cheek nervously as she backed off. "As long as you're okay, Sir."

Bun climbed back into his seat and yawned, stretching his back and lifting his arms until he accidentally bumped into the lifted harness. With an annoyed grunt he curled up in the seat, closing his hidden eyes and trying to get as comfortable as possible.

"Never did get to go back to sleep after being woken up at an unholy hour" he said quietly, stifling a yawn.

Fumu yawned herself, finding it contagious. "Bun's got the right idea. I'm going to try and get some sleep."

Meta Knight watched her pick a seat nearby to Bun, leaning back on it and closing her eyes. He dipped his head slightly, wrapped up in his cape as he regarded the tired siblings.

"Rest well."


	6. Chapter 6

"Wake up."

A warm, familiar tenor stirred Fumu to consciousness. The sleepy girl straightened up in her seat, blinking slowly as she arched her back in a stretch. It was sore from sleeping in an odd position on a seat clearly not made for that. The voice came from Blade, the armored knight standing in the aisle next to her as he coaxed the children awake. At the flight deck, Meta Knight had taken his position and assisted Sword with piloting the ship.

"Mmm?" Fumu asked dreamily, still half-awake.

"We're about to land" Blade replied, smile hidden behind his helmet.

"We're landing?!" Bun shouted next to Fumu, the boy's interjection so unexpected that it caused the other two to jump. He flew out of his seat, crawling over Fumu who sat next to the aisle. He landed next to Blade, pumping his fist in the air.

"We're landing! Woohoo!" Bun cried.

Blade put a fist to his hidden face, politely stifling a chuckle as Fumu glared at Bun. Her annoyed frown melted into an exasperated smile as she stared at her brother; although older and less filled with youthful exuberance, she was just as happy to get off of the cramped ship and onto land as he was. She allowed her mind to wander as she rubbed her sleepy eyes, wondering what the odd planet known as Star's Fall looked like.

Kirby crawled out of his own seat at the news, clearly well-rested despite having to sleep in the same cramped, uncomfortable seating as the others, and jumped up and down next to Bun and Blade.

"Yaaay, landing!" he exclaimed, stubby pink arms waving in the air.

Fumu pulled her messy hair out of its decorative scrunchies, letting it fall to her shoulders before tying it back up into a neat ponytail as she tried not to appear as if she had just rolled out of bed.

"You guys sound like you're going to a party" Fumu remarked. "You know this is serious, right? This won't be a picnic – we're going to have to stop that creep from retrieving the Necromantic Orb. Speaking of which…how are we even going to do that?" she wandered aloud, turning towards Blade. "If the legends about that thing are true, we wouldn't survive any attempts to take it either."

Meta Knight looked over his shoulder from his position seated at the flight deck, overhearing Fumu's question. "We need to defeat the Necromancer before he can reach it."

"Makes sense" Fumu replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Bun gave his sister a side hug, smiling at her. "Aww, Sis, don't be such a worrywart. Did you forget who we have on our team? Kirby! The guy who defeated Nightmare! And Sir Meta Knight, Sword and Blade too. We'll be fine!"

Fumu's troubled expression relaxed. "You've got a point."

In time, the planet of Star's Fall loomed into view from the ship's sole window over the flight deck console. The planet appeared to be a reddish-orange, clouds swirling over the land. Fumu immediately noted the complete lack of blue; the planet appeared to have very little water, if any at all. That made her nervous. Still, she reasoned, if the swirling clouds she saw were any indication the planet had to at least have some sort of moisture. It was not long before the Makhaira broke into the planet's atmosphere, revealing a deep orange sky like a neverending sunset.

"Buckle up, guys!" Sword warned. "We're coming in for a landing."

The group hunkered down in their seats and harnesses as the ship flew through the sky, its exterior heating to deadly temperatures as it pierced the planet's atmosphere. Not long after, the ship landed exactly where Meta Knight willed it to. He still remembered the exact ship coordinates of where the Orb lied from when the Galaxy Soldier Army attempted to retrieve it, as he had assisted in piloting a ship there, although he had never gone on any missions to actually take it.

The ship landed with a jolt that caused everyone to get shaken roughly in their harnesses. As everyone exited their seats and prepared to leave, Meta Knight held his palm out in warning.

"Do not exit this ship without proper gear", Meta Knight warned as he walked towards the rear of the ship, standing on his tiptoes as he reached for a compartment adjacent to the restroom where the ship's supplies were kept.

"Is there no air here? Do we get to wear cool spaceman helmets?" Bun asked, quivering slightly with excitement.

"No. The air is breathable for everyone on board" Meta Knight replied. He rested back on his heels with a variety of thick, padded clothing piled high in his arms, to the point where his masked face was not visible. He walked over to the others and gently set them down.

"However, where we're going it will be very cold. The Orb is located near the planet's south pole. Fumu, Bun – dress warmly."

The two siblings began to rifle through the clothes, looking amongst the thick coats and scarves for a size that would fit them. Fumu held up a pink jacket, eyeing it carefully. She then looked to Meta Knight, noting that he was not looking through the pile of clothing.

"You won't be wearing anything, Sir?"

"I'll be fine" Meta Knight replied, wrapping himself up in his cape. His yellow eyes traveled downwards to eye Kirby, who dove into the clothes as if they were a pool and was buried in them up to his feet. "Kirby will be, too."

Fumu tilted her head slightly in thought as she pushed her arm through one sleeve of the coat she chose. It made sense that Kirby and Meta Knight would fare better in the cold by nature; they had compact, stocky bodies with extremely short limbs, all perfect for conserving warmth and energy in the core of their bodies.

Kirby looked up from the pile of clothes, a long scarf hanging over his head and draped over one eye. "No clothes?" he asked, frowning. He wanted to play dress-up like Fumu and Bun.

"We may have to fight, and winter clothing is bulky", Meta Knight cautioned Kirby. "It would probably be best if you didn't wear anything."

"Okaaay…" Kirby said sadly, slipping out of the warm pile of clothes and slinking away. Meta Knight was no fun sometimes.

"We'll be fine, too" Sword added as he and Meta Knight watched the children pick their winter gear. "We threw on another layer under our gear while you guys were sleeping."

After Fumu and Bun were properly dressed, the group was ready to leave. Bun chose a dark teal coat that matched his hair, and Fumu chose a pink one. Both wore hats and mittens. Already they began to grow uncomfortably warm in the ship's interior.

The ship's door slid open as they exited the Makhaira. Meta Knight exited first, one hand motioning the others forward as he cautiously took his first steps onto the planet with his sword out and ready. The first thing that the veteran felt was cold. Even though he felt it less than taller, slimmer creatures, it still hit him hard. He wrapped himself up in his cape as tightly as possible, determined not to show any sign of perceived weaknesses such as shivering. Fumu and Bun, despite their warm clothes, shivered violently the second they stepped out of the ship.

The planet of Star's Fall looked just as Meta Knight remembered it; bleak and ugly, a cold and desolate place with nothing but rock and dirt for miles around. A featureless orange sky, devoid of clouds, hung over an endless expanse of sand that was broken up only by the odd stray rock. Despite the intense cold, there was no snow; the ground below them was a dark, ruddy red.

Not long after they exited the Makhaira, the group noticed another ship parked nearby. The ship was larger than the one they had arrived in, silver in color, with sharp pointed angles. It was clearly a newer model.

"That must be the Necromancer's ship. He's here!" Sword cried, pointing to it.

Meta Knight nodded in agreement. "There's no time to lose."

The blue Star Warrior kept his steady gaze forward as he walked in the lead, flanked by Sword and Blade. Before them stood a cave with a small, barely visible entrance, a triangular crevasse between two huge red rocks. The others peered at the entrance curiously.

"It's in there?" Fumu asked timidly.

"I believe so" Meta Knight replied. He stuck his head into the darkened area cautiously before withdrawing, unable to suppress a shiver. Somehow, inside of the cave was even colder. The others looked at him with concern.

"We will need a source of light and warmth" Meta Knight stated, knowing that if he felt it that hard that the cold would be nearly unbearable for the children. He reached into the depths of his cape to produce a torch.

"Damn the air here" he muttered as he took several attempts to light the torch. It finally glowed to life, a weak flame rising from the wooden stick. Meta Knight quickly dipped inside of the cave's entrance with one gloved hand cautiously cupped around the torch's flame, protecting it from any outside wind. The others hurried inside after him, no one wanting to be caught outside and alone with the Necromancer nearby.

The cave inside was coated with a thick ice from top to bottom. The eerie cave glowed blue from what little they could see beyond Meta Knight's weakly flickering torch. Jagged black rocks rose from the ground, jutting upwards in random places on the sides of a narrow path that lead deeper into the cave. The ice appeared almost sculpted, as if it were manmade. The beautiful, almost crystalline cave they were in was a stark contrast from the dim orange dustbowl outside.

"Pretty…" Kirby murmured, the orange light of the torch reflecting in his deep blue eyes.

Fumu nodded in agreement as she walked beside him, too awestruck to talk. She wished that she had a camera.

As the group walked deeper into the cave, they began to notice something strange about the ice. Bun's eyes narrowed as he stared at what appeared to be an unusual sort of formation, barely visible underneath the ice's thick layer. He walked closer, asking Meta Knight to join him with his torch. Both males peered into the ice before Bun scrambled backwards, nearly knocking Meta Knight over.

"No way! This can't be real." He stammered, teeth chattering from cold and fear.

Meta Knight swept his torch around, eyes traveling up the wall of the cave until he stared directly upwards at the ceiling. He then cast his gaze downward, looking at the icy ground beneath them. It did not take the two long to realize that, encased in the ice, were bodies. Scattered throughout the cave, frozen behind its walls, was a seemingly endless array of corpses. They appeared mummified, remarkably well-preserved in their deep freeze. They stared out at the group with lifeless eye sockets, a variety of species, many wearing robes and armor that appeared both alien and many years old. Fumu jumped in place, one hand placed to her mouth in awe; despite finding the sight deeply disturbing, she couldn't help but muse that this must be an archaeological treasure trove of lost cultures.

"It appears as if this cave contains more than just ice…be on your guard." Meta Knight stated.

"Incredible" Fumu said breathlessly.

Fascination overriding fear, Fumu walked beside the wall as the group continued to wind their way down the path. She paused for a moment, putting her mittened hand on the ice. Encased in the ice she was staring at was of the cave's many frozen bodies. It appeared to be a member of Kirby and Meta Knight's species, which is what drew her to it in particular; enough of its skin was missing to reveal bits of its organs and poorly-preserved remnants of cartilage. Her mouth dropped open as she examined the body, wishing there was more time to study it in order to learn more about the anatomy of the two Star Warriors. It was like a science diagram.

Fumu suddenly jumped back with a short, high-pitched yelp, causing all three knights to withdraw their swords in an instant. She squinted at the wall she had just put her hand against before rubbing her head self-consciously, blushing in embarrassment.

"Um, sorry guys. False alarm" Fumu admitted sheepishly.

"It's okay" Sword said, Blade nodding in agreement behind him. "I think this place gives us all the creeps."

"We must keep moving" Meta Knight said tersely, urging them onward. There could be no distractions. Every second the group paused was one more moment they could allow the Necromancer, who was apparently ahead of them, to reach the Necromantic Orb first.

As the group moved on, Fumu looked over her shoulder suspiciously to glance at the spot she was once standing in. She was sure it was her imagination overreacting, considering she felt jumpy in this eerie place to begin with, but she would have sworn that she saw the body move.


	7. Chapter 7

The group continued down the icy cave. The shimmering blue walls began to narrow, the entire area darkening as they moved away from the cave's sunlit entrance. Soon, it was too dark to see anything beyond the dim glow of Meta Knight's lit torch. The cave became noticeably colder as the group forged onward. At first the cold was tolerable, but soon Fumu and Bun both began to feel it hard. The cold seeped through their thick layers of clothing, piercing through their coats and mittens. Fumu's teeth chattered as her pale skin began to take on a blue tinge. Even Meta Knight himself began to feel his body shake, the cold armor pressed against his face and shoulders canceling out whatever warmth his cape gave him. He steeled himself, willing his body not to shiver through force of will. Bun was faring even worse, the slim young boy having practically no muscle or fat to keep him insulated under his layers of clothing. He reflexively opened and closed his hands, desperately trying to keep the blood flowing into his fingers. In time, his pace began to lag behind the others. Fumu turned to see where her brother was, Meta Knight looking over his shoulder to glance at Bun.

Bun continued to step forward, feeling embarrassed that he was lagging behind. Fumu put a mitten over her mouth in concern; she knew that he was suffering. Meta Knight glanced upwards at his own torch, eyes tinting a faint green as he watched the flame flicker weakly.

"This torch will not be enough heat" Meta Knight said.

Fumu grimaced, nodding slowly in agreement. Although she did not voice her concern, she was deeply afraid of Bun losing the strength to move altogther. She had read heart-wrenching tales of exhausted explorers that trudged through snow until they stopped for a short rest, only to close their eyes and never move again.

"It's just fine!" Bun responded, lying with his voice in an upbeat tone in order to placate his worried sister. He knew that he was not fine, far from it, but he did not want Fumu or the others to lose focus on the mission for his sake.

Meta Knight's slight smile was hidden beneath his mask; he was impressed by Bun's bravery. Still, he knew that Bun was fading and that he as well as the rest of the group were in increasing danger of succumbing to the cold. Meta Knight's eyes traveled upwards to glance at his torch a second time; he had an idea. He tapped Kirby on the shoulder with a gloved hand, causing the pink creature to swing around and eye the veteran curiously.

"Kirby" Meta Knight said, holding the torch out to him. "It's getting dangerously cold in here. Inhale this and become Fire Kirby; you can put out more heat than this torch can."

Kirby nodded in response. With a forceful pull so sudden that even Meta Knight was caught off guard, Kirby inhaled the torch. His skin darkened to a deep cherry red, flames leaping out of a crown of fire on his head.

Fumu grinned broadly at the sight. "Fire Kirby! Sir Meta Knight, you are a genius."

Meta Knight cleared his throat, holding his gloved fist to his mask with his eyes closed. He felt a sudden rush of warmth to his freezing face in the form of a light blush. Compliments had a tendency to make him feel bashful, though his mask kept his expression hidden.

"Fire Kirby" Meta Knight addressed the red Star Warrior. "Give off as much heat as you can at a steady pace. We will need your warmth."

"Yes, Sir!" Fire Kirby responded. His body began to glow slightly, a faint orange aura emanating from him like the glow of candlelight.

The others huddled around him, forming a mass of bodies. Kirby felt thoroughly uncomfortable having everyone breathing on him, but he understood that they needed to be close in order to feel his warmth. Bun felt better as he walked inches away from Kirby, the Star Warrior's immense heat giving off a comfortable amount of warmth in a small radius around him. Meta Knight raised a hidden eyebrow as he examined Kirby; the young boy's brows were furrowed, frown twitching slightly. He watched beads of sweat form on Kirby's forehead, only to immediately evaporate from the heat. Kirby was clearly putting a lot of effort into maintaining the level of heat he was giving off. Meta Knight fiddled with the corner of his folded cape with one gloved hand nervously as he walked; he was not sure how long Kirby could keep up what he was doing.

In time the group paused, their pace slowing to a stop. Kirby's eyes closed, the fiery crown on his head shrinking like that of a spent campfire. Meta Knight's eyes flashed with worry.

"Hey, Kirby...you okay?" Fumu asked. Kirby stood still, silent. He gave a nod after a couple of seconds.

"Yup" Kirby responded, his choice of words positive though his voice was faint and wilting. Although his expression was still clearly pained, he managed to make a small smile for Fumu. Radiating even a small amount of fire from his body constantly was incredibly taxing, as if he was producing one long, continuous fire attack, but he knew how important his task was.

"Keep going" Meta Knight coaxed the others. He moved forward beyond the tight huddle around Kirby, walking into the dark beyond the light radiating from the younger Star Warrior's fiery crown. He knew that Kirby was tired, but the group could not spare a second of wasted time.

Kirby shifted one foot to another as he tried to will himself to move again, knowing that the group was counting on him more than ever. As he moved, a small amount of clear liquid pooled around his dark red shoes as the ice beneath his feet melted slightly. Kirby looked down, surprised at the feeling of wetness; he watched the liquefying ice beneath his feet curiously. As he watched, he saw what appeared to be some sort of shadow move beneath the ice.

Kirby blinked multiple times in rapid succession. He figured it was the dancing shadows cast from the light of his fiery crown. He began to step forward.

A hand suddenly shot up from the ground beneath Kirby, causing the Star Warrior and the others to quickly hop back a pace. The hand, a silvery five-fingered gauntlet covering brown mummified skin that looked like tanned leather, reached forward and grasped at the air. Fumu and Kirby screamed, Blade shouting in surprise at the same time as all three knights immediately drew their weapons. The forearm gripped the ice as a second hand pushed through from the icy floor below them, a large crack forming and spreading out in a circular radius. A body then burst forth from the ice, hauling itself out of the ground in a shower of shards. The body was humanoid in shape, its anatomy appearing to be that of Garlude's species. The naturally-preserved corpse was fully armored, wearing a tarnished breastplate and horned helmet. Its eye sockets glowed a bright, unnatural blue, tiny orbs flickering and dancing within the hollow eyeholes like a flame. It unsheathed a mace from a belt on its side, advancing towards the group.

Fumu and Bun hid in the rear, screaming, as the three knights attacked with their swords drawn. Before Kirby could join in a second corpse burst forth from the floor behind them, clawing madly at the icy floor before standing upwards. The armored being lifted a large, rusted spear and aimed it at the children before Kirby intervened, stepping in front of them protectively. Kirby took a deep breath and blew fire at the undead creature, the column of flame shooting forwards to hit the body. However, this was not the body of a civilian. The spear-wielding undead held out its buckler, crouching behind it and deflecting the fire. It then advanced forward with its spear, jabbing at Kirby. Kirby got out of the way before flinging a fireball at it; again, the animated body blocked the flame with an expertly-timed shield block.

"These aren't like the ones in Pupu Village" Bun uttered nervously as he clung to his sister.

"Former soldiers" Blade managed to say as he traded blows with the one in front, Sword and Meta Knight surrounding it from all sides as they tried to mob it.

"Their armor is brittle with age! Focus on breaking it so that Kirby can burn the body inside" Meta Knight cried as he slashed at the ice mummy, battering its breastplate as hard as he could with blows from Galaxia.

The ice mummy swung around with an unnatural speed, spiked mace striking Meta Knight in response. The blow hit the knight's mask, but a tip of it managed to pierce the skin above his eyes where the mask ended. The wound began to bleed, a thin red trickle running down his forehead and into his right eye. Meta Knight stood in place while swaying for a moment, stunned from the blow to his head, as Sword and Blade dove in front of him to protect their leader. Sword's eyes flashed from under his mask, becoming visible for a brief second as the sight of Meta Knight being wounded sent him into a rage. He delivered several quick blows in succession, lopping off the mummy's arm which held the mace. Bits of dislodged ice fell free from the joint as the arm limply fell to the ground, gauntlet relaxing its grip on the mace as it went limp.

Blade stepped back, circling to the rear to keep the second corpse distracted as he addressed Kirby. "Kirby! Where Sword cut off its arm, there's an opening through the armor! Burn it there!"

Kirby whipped his head around, eyes locking in on the rotted stump where the creature's arm once was. He unleashed a torrent of flame, aiming carefully for the hole of exposed flesh that Sword's cut provided. The ice mummy quickly erupted in flames, fire gushing out of the thin holes in its helmet and armor joints. It soon fell over, a blackened thin pile of indescribable flesh that melted into its armor.

Blade took a cue from Sword and focused on the second ice mummy's limbs, trying to both nullify the threat of its weapon and provide an opening of exposed flesh on the fully-armored form. However, the spear-wielding corpse was a seasoned warrior and used the tip of its spear to give itself enough range to stay out of Blade's reach. Kirby stepped forward, aiming carefully; the only spot he could see where he could reach the creature was the thin slit of exposed skin where the helmet's eye openings were. Kirby blew fire at its face. Sword and Blade leaped out of the way as the creature dropped its spear, covering its face with its gauntleted hands. Sword kicked the spear away as Kirby pressed forward, continuing to blow fire in the same spot. The undead monster writhed in place, thrashing its head rapidly before crumpling forward. It laid still.

Fire Kirby stepped back, breathing heavily. His first thoughts were of the children; he whipped his head around to see Fumu and Bun clinging to each other tightly, terrified but unharmed. He then looked to Meta Knight, who had Sword and Blade standing over him. Meta Knight staggered to his feet after a few seconds, waving a hand to refuse the help of the others. He cautiously put a hand to his head wound, wincing sharply at the pain, before glancing at his glove. It was bloody.

"...Bastard" Meta Knight growled. He sheathed Galaxia, which laid on the ground next to him, before walking over to Kirby.

"Sir Meta Knight!" Fumu exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Meta Knight muttered, wrapping himself up in his cape as he walked.

"Kirby" the blue Star Warrior addressed the young boy, who after the surprise attack was more spent than ever. Kirby looked up at him wearily in response, his dark red skin fading slightly as the crown of billowing flames on his head shrank further.

"Do not stop moving, no matter what." Meta Knight ordered. "We cannot stand still in one place for too long. It appears as if the warmth of your Fire ability woke them."

"Fire?" Kirby asked as he resumed his walking pace, again glowing as he made sure to radiate enough heat for the others as they huddled in a tight circle around him.

"That makes sense" Fumu mused as the group moved on. "They sensed warmth, life. But how were they animated in the first place? Did...did the Necromancer beat us here?"

"Perhaps" Meta Knight replied. "Or maybe the Necromantic Orb itself brought those unholy monsters to life without any outside will controlling it."

Blade shuddered at the thought. "Either way, it's a bad sign..."

"They were far more difficult than the zombies back at the village, too" Sword added. "They were armored and had weapons. They moved way too quickly for something that had been dead and frozen for who knows how long. They even still knew how to fight, somehow."

"I hope we don't see any more of those" Bun murmured in an uncharacteristically timid tone.

Meta Knight's right eye flickered, briefly winking out behind the mask as he blinked away the blood that trickled into it.

"Don't let your guard down."


	8. Chapter 8

Kirby, Meta Knight and the two children walked through the narrow, winding cave tunnels, Sword and Blade following closely behind them as rear guards. The tunnel began to narrow further, causing everyone to feel claustrophobic. Fumu kept her eyes trained forward as the icy walls began to close in. The terrifying masses of frozen corpses, displayed within the walls surrounding the group like a grisly museum exhibit, were now too close to ignore. The entire group pressed forward, tired, tense, fearful of the naturally-preserved mummies that could come to life and attack them at any second. Fire Kirby suffered the most, the young boy using every last ounce of his energy to maintain a steady heat level for the sake of his friends.

In time, a second light could be seen beyond Kirby's fire crown. A cold, blue light glowed eerily beyond where the group stood. Everyone looked up simultaneously.

Fumu clasped her hands together. "There's a light! Could that be…?"

"The Necromantic Orb! We found it!" Bun cried, jumping for joy. He began to break into a run past the group.

"STOP" A deep voice commanded.

Bun skidded to a halt, his shoes haphazardly slipping on the ice as he clumsily slowed down. He turned to look at Meta Knight, who was the one that called out to him.

"Bun, we must be cautious. There is still a good chance that the Necromantic Orb is not alone" The veteran warned, glaring at him with unblinking yellow eyes.

Bun realized how dangerous his actions were, frowning at the thought of charging headfirst into an undead guardian. He imagined what could have happened if he wasn't stopped, the terrible creatures that could be waiting for anyone who dared to come close to the artifact. Reigning in his excitement, the boy obediently fell into place behind Kirby and Meta Knight.

Shortly afterwards, the group reached the doorway. Beyond the door, the strange blue light glowed strongly enough to cast harsh shadows along the irregular, crystalline walls of ice. Kirby stepped forward first, deep blue eyes going wide as saucers as he stood in the doorway. Meta Knight, Sword and Blade peered in as the two children stood behind them on tiptoes, unable to see anything past their armored bodies.

The doorway they were standing in opened into a large, circular chamber made entirely of ice. The high, domed ceiling curved upwards into a roof covered in stalactites. On the cave's floor, framed by an array of rocks and stalagmites, was a small ornately decorated pedestal. At the base of the pedestal stood the Necromancer, his winged back turned away from the group. In the crook of one arm, he carried the Capiwa doll. He held the staff in his bad hand, the good one free and ready to take hold of the Necromantic Orb.

The Necromancer paused as he loomed over the Orb, his heart racing wildly as he stared into the painfully bright blue light that emanated from the fabled artifact. This was it. The thing that he had tried to obtain for years. The item that countless legendary wars were fought over, before even the time of Nightmare's reign. He had the fabled Capiwa doll in his arm, the one item in the galaxy that could prevent him from immediately having his life energy drained away like the Necromantic Orb had done to so many others. His free hand began to quiver slightly; if he was wrong, if the Capiwa's power was truly just a myth, he could very well kill himself by attempting this. The ex-Star Warrior exhaled sharply as he steeled his nerves, free hand closing into a tight fist. He did not come this far to be turned away by fear. He needed this Orb. With it he could remove the burden of life from every sentient being, planet by planet, until his work was completed in the entire galaxy. He could bless them all with the gift of unlife, the ability to never feel anything negative again. He would end the suffering of millions; no more pain, no more starvation. No outside threat could ever harm the galaxy again as every single soul would be unified under one force, all made into soldiers that answered to him without question. His gaze hardened. With a deep, quaking breath, the Necromancer quickly swiped up the Orb.

The Necromantic Orb began to glow brighter than before as the Necromancer seized it. A rapid gust of wind suddenly rose from it, tugging several wing feathers loose and nearly blowing off his mask. The winged creature held onto it tightly, refusing to let go as the winds swirled chaotically around him. Slowly, the wind died down. The object felt strangely warm in his hand, just like it had before. However, he could tell that things were different this time. There was no pain. The Necromancer tightened his grip; already, he could tell that the Capiwa doll must have worked. He held the Necromantic Orb up to his green eyes and marveled at the perfectly round sphere, the incredible power he held in his hand.

Kirby brought a hand to his mouth nervously as Meta Knight's piercing yellow gaze began to dim. They were too late; the party had arrived just in time to watch the Necromancer successfully take hold of the Orb.

"No…" Meta Knight murmured, deep voice barely above a whisper. "No…"

"There must be some way to stop him" Blade said softly, noting that the Necromancer still had his back to the group and did not seem to have noticed them.

"We have no choice but to try" Sword added in a low voice, nodding in agreement as he withdrew his weapon in a slow, steady motion in order to be as silent as possible.

Meta Knight looked around the room. Immediately he took note of the amount of stalagmites that rose from the ground, each appearing to be large enough for bodies to hide behind. He knew that the warriors needed to try and stop the Necromancer somehow, even if attempting to do so was suicide, but the children were helpless and needed to hide.

"Fumu, Bun" Meta Knight whispered hoarsely, the two siblings leaning closer to him in response. "All at once, we will run in. That stalagmite, over there" a gloved hand emerged from the folds of his cape, pointing to the nearest pointed structure in emphasis, "Run there as fast as you can and keep hidden. You need to stay safe. Sword, Blade, Kirby and I will attack him."

Fumu bit her lip, feeling the start of tears at the edge of her eyes. "But Sir…he has the Necromantic Orb now…you guys will-"

"We have the element of surprise right now" Meta Knight interrupted before Fumu could finish her sentence. "It's our best chance."

"Everyone" Meta Knight said, the others' faces leaning in closely around him. "On the count of 3, we charge."

Sword and Blade nodded simultaneously, Kirby doing so a beat behind them. Bun pulled his hat further down over his head until it nearly shielded his eyes, hyperventilating into his scarf. Fumu looked at her younger brother and put a comforting hand on his back; unable to keep her tears back any longer, they silently rolled down her cold cheeks.

Meta Knight faced forward, withdrawing Galaxia in a smooth, silent motion.

"One…two…three."

At once the group burst into the room, moving in as fast of a pace as they could manage without making any noise. Fumu and Bun hugged the wall of the cave, heart pounding as they both used sheer willpower to not break into a noisy, panicked run. The two children did not have to go far until they reached their destination, disappearing into the network of stalagmites by the cave's walls as soon as they could.

Meta Knight, Sword and Blade remained out in the open and broke into three separate paths, each closing in on the Necromancer at a different angle. They were silent except for the faintest rustle of their armor, creeping forward at a slower pace than Fumu and Bun did. Kirby moved in a different direction separate from the knights, hugging the wall on the opposite side of the room across from Fumu and Bun.

"I know you're here" a voice sneered, the body it came from not even bothering to turn around.

All three knights froze in place, shocked that they were caught so easily. The Necromancer lowered his black wings and turned slightly, glancing at them out of the corner of his green eye. The advancing warriors were stealthy, but even Nightmare's most highly-trained Biospark Ninjas could not sneak up on the Necromancer. His dark power gave him the ability to sense the presence of life in a room.

"And you", the Necromancer said, turning to his right and facing a seemingly empty group of rocks. "You're out there, too. Face me!"

A fireball hurtled towards the Necromancer, seemingly from out of nowhere. The other knights scrambled back as the startled Necromancer, who was not expecting a projectile attack, took wing in an attempt to dodge. He fell to the ground, yowling in pain as a section of his wing got seared.

The Necromancer's green eyes darkened until they were as red as his skin, two scarlet orbs peering out from behind his skull-shaped mask. He held out his injured wing, inspecting the damage; he was lightly singed, with a few of his primary feathers gone, but it was nothing serious. It made him angry.

"You will pay for that…" The Necromancer stated in a voice as icy as the cave they stood in. "My first command to the Necromantic Orb will be to kill the lot of you."

The Necromancer held the Orb high and began to chant, speaking in an ancient, arcane tongue. The orb began to glow brighter, vibrating in the Necromancer's hand.

"Run! Hide!" Meta Knight cried. The three swordsmen dove behind various stalagmites within the cave. Kirby, who had peeked out from a rock to attack the Necromancer with a fireball, ducked back behind the one he had chosen for cover. Fumu and Bun, who had been watching the scene from behind a large stalagmite farther away than the others, quickly pressed their backs against the icy formation and squeezed their eyes shut. The two siblings held hands, Fumu squeezing Bun's tightly.

"Goodbye" Fumu whispered.

Within a second the Necromantic Orb flashed. A searing bright light, so overwhelming that even the Necromancer himself had to shield his eyes, enveloped the room. The blast swept through silently. A split second later, a gust of wind blew through the cave with the power of a cyclone. The wind whipped through so violently that several stalactites rattled, crashing downwards from the ceiling and shattering on the cave's floor. Slowly, after many seconds, the bright light faded. The Necromancer stood there, staring at the Orb with eyes shining blue with joy.

"Such power…" the Necromancer gasped. He then paused, whipping his head around as his black wings flared in confusion. Something was wrong. He could still sense life.

Fumu opened her eyes. The first thing she was aware of was her chest rising and falling – she was still alive. She could hear nothing but a loud, persistent ringing in her ears. Fumu looked to her right; Bun was still beside her, back pressed against the icy wall. They looked at each other with wide eyes. The first thing the two siblings did was clutch each other tightly in a deep hug, as if they had not seen each other in years. Fumu shook her head slowly as she withdrew from their embrace, entire body quivering in shock; she couldn't believe that they were not destroyed by the blast. Cautiously, she and Bun peered out beyond the stalagmite they hid behind. They could see a clear blast radius, rocks and other debris tossed aside around the small sort of crater.

The Necromancer growled deeply. He put the Orb away in a small satchel that hung from his left shoulder, stepping off the platform.

"Hiding behind the ice like cowards" the Necromancer snarled. "It does not matter. The Orb has sealed your fates."

With his good hand now free, the Necromancer switched his staff to his dominant hand. He then began to descend from the platform, walking calmly towards the entrance of the cave. Beneath his mask of bone, the Necromancer smiled. He carefully stepped out of the room, glancing at the area where he received the Necromantic Orb from. His green eyes slowly traveled around the seemingly empty room; six living beings. He could sense them. He could feel the frenzied pulse of their heartbeats.

"Fear…" the Necromancer mused. "Good."

The Necromancer stepped outside of the room and stood in the doorway, the broad cavern becoming engulfed in darkness as he took the Necromantic Orb with him. He then lifted his staff and aimed at the icy opening. With a flurry of sparks, a white laser-like beam shot out of the staff's tip. Slowly, with the precision of a welder, the Necromancer used his staff to trace an outline a few feet above the doorway. He then stepped back a few paces, glancing at the room one last time. The area above him began to rumble, tiny bits of debris forming as the ice above the doorway began to crack. He then walked off at a brisk pace. Behind him, the walls creaked and groaned as a ton of unleashed ice began to fall. The doorway quickly became filled with ice and rock, a cave-in deliberately caused by the Necromancer's magic.

The Necromancer headed back up the tunnel, eyes glinting with glee. The fact that the band of men who tried to assassinate him were still technically alive did not trouble him. His attack from the Orb may have missed its targets, but the attack did more than just shoot a blast of energy; he had left the party a gift, one that they were sure to receive now that they were trapped in the room. The Necromancer imagined the group inside, trapped like rats, scrabbling frantically at the now sealed doorway as the 'gift' granted by his magic caused them to die one by one.

He gave a curt nod to himself. It was over.


	9. Chapter 9

The icy cavern remained pitch black. After a minute, a dim light cast from a torch illuminated the area. Meta Knight held his torch high, thankful that he brought enough of them to last the group during their journey. He looked around slowly, still disoriented from both the strange attack and the head wound he suffered earlier. An armored green helmet poked out from behind one of the nearby stalagmites, followed by another that was topped with a red plume. Sword and Blade had survived the attack. Meta Knight noted as he swung his torch around that there was no other light source; not only was the Necromancer gone, but Fire Kirby was no longer giving off any light as well. He froze momentarily, wondering if Kirby was even still alive.

Fumu and Bun poked their heads out from their hiding place at the opposite side of the cave, causing the blue Star Warrior to sigh through his mask in relief. If the children died while he and the others survived, he would never forgive himself.

"The Necromancer's gone" Meta Knight called to them, cupping his hand to his mouth as his deep voice echoed throughout the domed room.

The two siblings hurried towards the knights, fumbling half-blind through the frigid darkness as they headed towards the small, glowing light source that was Meta Knight's torch. As they ran, Fumu noted that there was a strange scratching noise coming from the walls nearby to them. The noise caused her heart to leap to her throat, even though the cavern appeared to be empty. She wanted to tell herself the noise was all in her head, or that it came from the ground settling after the Necromantic Orb's blast, but after the last ambush she did not even trust her own logical explanations for strange occurrences. Bun ran even faster than his sister, the sounds playing with his imagination and causing him to imagine terrible things waiting for them in the dark.

As the two children made it to Meta Knight, Sword and Blade, their worries were temporarily cast aside by a more urgent matter. One member of their group was still missing.

"Kirby? Where's Kirby?!" Fumu asked, her voice rising to a frantic pitch as she looked to her left and right.

Fumu's green eyes widened as she caught the sight of something usually pink amongst the stark blue and black landscape, barely visible at the edge of the flame's light. The group rushed over to Kirby, who laid face down on the ice. Meta Knight turned the young boy around with one arm, eyes trained on his chest for signs of breathing. He held Kirby's wrist for a few seconds, the others peering over his shoulder nervously. Meta Knight then proceeded to slap the boy's face several times, gently but firm enough to rouse him to consciousness.

"Wake up" Meta Knight coaxed, his tone urgent. Kirby's eyes scrunched while still closed, frowning at the touch, before his blue eyes blinked open slowly.

"Kirby! You're okay!" Fumu cried, diving past Meta Knight onto the icy ground to give her friend a hug. Kirby weakly hugged her back after a few seconds, his brain still processing what was happening around him.

"Guess he just blacked out" Blade said, the relief clear in his voice.

"How the hell did we survive that?" Sword asked, as thankful as everyone else but equally baffled that they were still standing.

"That blow should have killed us all" Meta Knight muttered, wrapping himself up in his cape and stepping back as Fumu helped Kirby to his feet. "The stalagmites must have blocked the Necromantic Orb. We got lucky."

"Why didn't he keep attacking us, then?" Bun asked.

"I'm not sure…he did say something about the Necromantic Orb sealing our fates. I don't feel any different, though" Blade mused, rotating his right arm curiously before glancing at his limbs and body.

Meta Knight said nothing. He held up a gloved arm to silence the others before unsheathing Galaxia with his free hand. The sacred sword's metal blade caught the reflection of the torch he held in his other hand, glowing faintly in the darkness.

"Ssh…listen" Meta Knight said in a hushed voice.

Fumu and Bun both froze in place, shaking even through their thick clothes. Fumu's heart sank at the confirmation that the noises she heard earlier were not, in fact, a figment of her own imagination. Meta Knight's eyes glowed brighter.

"That sound…it sounds like from earlier, when we were ambushed." Meta Knight turned around, facing the group. "We'd better get out of here."

The noises grew louder as the group proceeded towards the doorway. Sword's hidden jaw fell open as Meta Knight's torch cast its dim, flickering light on the once empty way out of the room. The armor-clad swordsman leaned forward, gloved hands gently dragging against the icy rocks which blocked their way.

"Shit! A cave in!" Sword cursed, pounding the rock uselessly with his fist in frustration.

"Don't panic. We can find our way out of this. I'm sure of it" Blade said, his voice thin and quavering from nerves.

"We will have to worry about that later..." Meta Knight said quickly, throwing his cape aside.

Sword and Blade tensed, withdrawing their own weapons; the odd sounds they had heard earlier were becoming too loud to ignore. Bun clutched Fumu and buried his head into her, choking back a sob as he gripped her coat hard enough that his hands hurt. The boy felt overwhelmed, frozen in fear. Fumu held him in return, the two pressing up against the icy wall of caved-in debris like trapped animals.

A sudden crash came from the far wall of the cave. The three knights turned their head towards the sound at once. Kirby began to look around frantically for something to inhale; the last bit of his fire power was spent and he had reverted back to normal, but if he ate Meta Knight's torch to become Fire Kirby again the entire group would be engulfed in total darkness if they strayed too far from him. The crash was followed by more odd sounds, clumps of ice falling to the ground from all around the cave's walls.

From within the darkness, shadowy figures began to advance towards the group. A reanimated Ax knight, half-frozen yet lurching steadily forward, came into view. A horrible screeching sound could be heard as the Ax Knight dragged his battleaxe behind him, the sharp edge of the weapon scraping against the ice with each step. Not far behind it were two Bukisets, their single cyclopean eyes glowing from within their elongated, silver helmets as they each clutched glowing elemental swords. The awful sickly smell of death, slightly dulled by the rotting flesh being half-frozen, hit the group's nostrils again.

Meta Knight drew back in fear as he realized now what the Necromancer's plan was; The Necromantic Orb did more than just attack them. The blast of unnatural energy awoke the body of every member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, every foolhardy adventurer, every one of Nightmare's Demon Beasts who died in the room in their attempt to retrieve the Orb in the past. More and more figures began to emerge from the dark, a variety of risen bodies covered in various types of armor. Monstrous Demon Beasts and armor-clad ex soldiers alike came from all directions, clawing the way out of the icy walls and rising from the ground. To Meta Knight's growing horror, he watched as dimly-glowing wisps of energy flew towards them from behind and around the pedestal where the Orb once sat. A single eye appeared in the center of each pale blue wisp as they began to take a vague shape similar to his own spherical body, a wide blood-red grin plastered on their translucent faces. They lifted spectral lances high in the air, a mass of them floating towards the group. The Necromantic Orb's twisted power went beyond the mere animation of corpses; the chained souls of dead warriors, now turned into Ghost Knights, were under its command as well.

Fumu's pale face went white as a sheet as she and Bun held each other. The sight of the Ghost Knights, floating along in the dark room alongside an army of undead warriors, was almost too much for her. Ever since she was a small child she had always dismissed the idea of ghosts as mere fairy-tales; yet here they were, materializing before her eyes.

"Form a circle around the children!" Meta Knight ordered. He handed his torch to Fumu and crouched low, squaring his feet as he held his arm back. Galaxia began to radiate with energy as Meta Knight prepared to unleash a Sword Beam. Sword and Blade did the same, standing a foot away from Meta Knight on each side as they prepared to charge. Kirby stood in front of them all, blue eyes trained on the glowing green elemental sword held by one of the Bukiset.

Meta Knight 's eyes flashed white, the Star Warrior emitting a battle cry as he thrust his arm forward. A crescent of faintly glowing energy flew forward, hitting the Ax Knight dead on. The creature was slowed for a few moments, the Bukiset warriors stepping over their comrade and charging forward. One held up an elemental sword glowing blue with ice; the others' sword glowed green, cackling with faint electricity. Kirby ran in front of Meta Knight, opening his large mouth wide and inhaling. The Bukiset nearest to him held still, planting its feet in the ground as it tried to resist the incredible suction generated by Kirby. Soon, its green crackling sword flew out of his hand and landed into the young Star Warrior's mouth. Kirby's skin instantaneously turned a pale green, a crown of pure electricity leaping forward from his head. A green glow radiated from his body, shining like a flashlight in the darkness.

Meta Knight took his eyes off the battle for a moment, seeing the transformed Star Warrior standing in front of him. "Spark Kirby" he murmured, awestruck.

Blade charged forward to engage the second Bukiset, his silver sword clashing with the Bukiset's icy weapon. The two held their ground with their swords in a parrying position, both shaking with effort as they tried to muscle through each other's guard. Blade managed to break free, his silver weapon nicked and gouged where the Bukiset's icy blade met his, and spun around rapidly to chop the Bukiset in half. The Bukiset's body fell over stiffly into two neat pieces, its mummified innards too frozen to fall apart. Spark Kirby clenched his fists as the first Bukiset, now weaponless, charged towards him with its bare hands. A round field of electricity sprang up in a neat circle around Kirby. The Bukiset blindly charged into it, jerking spastically from electrocution before falling over in a sizzling heap.

Meta Knight noted that although Spark Kirby could not bathe enemies in fire, the sheer power of his electric voltage was charring the flesh of his enemies in a similar way. The young Star Warrior made a surprisingly wise choice in choosing the electric sword over the other Bukiset's ice weapon.

Various corpses began to swarm over their three fallen comrades. A variety of species, wielding axes, swords, daggers, spears, and shields, all plodded towards the warriors in an aggressive frenzy. Meta Knight's heart sank as he noticed, on the armor of some of the corpses, the star-shaped badge signifying that these were the disturbed bodies of Galaxy Soldier Army warriors. The knights battled them, flailing about in the dim torchlight as they knocked them over one by one. Although chopping away at the undead was nearly useless, they utilized what they learned earlier to strategically open up holes in the advancing horde's armor to expose their withered flesh to Kirby's attacks. Spark Kirby shot forth crackling lightning bolts from his hands, each attack faster than the blink of an eye and cracking the air with the loudness of a gunshot. The corpses were fried in place, the lightning rapidly coursing through their icy bodies.

Sword swung his weapon repeatedly as he chopped down one enemy after another, a metal dervish. He felt something hit his arm; he didn't care, swinging wildly in the direction of the attack and stabbing a zombie through its skull. The zombie yanked its head back with Sword's blade still wedged into it, lifting its own rusted broadsword in retaliation. The creature suddenly fell over, smoking as its charred black flesh emitted a foul-smelling smoke. Spark Kirby stood nearby, panting. Sword gave Kirby a nod before planting his foot on the zombie's skull, using both arms to wrench his sword out of the corpse's head.

Meta Knight spun quickly in his cape, winking out of view. He then appeared behind a knight,who was armored from head to toe, and instantly stabbed it in the tiny sliver of exposed flesh at the back of its neck. The creature slumped, sliding off of his weapon before collapsing on the ground.

"Don't stop!" Meta Knight cried over the battle as he withdrew his sword from the body with a sickening squelch, whirling around to lop off the arm of another zombie which had tried to attack him from behind.

The four warriors relentlessly carved their way through the horde of undead, so distracted by the battle in front of them that they did not notice the Ghost Knights hovering past them. Kirby's eyes widened as he broke off his engagement with one ice mummy, using his Spark power to form a shield around his round body as he plowed past the masses of undead surrounding him. The Ghost Knights were heading towards the children.

Spark Kirby planted his feet and shot off bolt after bolt of lightning at the Ghost Knights. Two were immediately vaporized, disappearing in a puff of smoke. One Ghost Knight flew directly in front of the other, holding up an ethereal blue shield to deflect Kirby's electricity. The young boy ducked as his lightning bolt reflected off the shield and went haywire, richocheting off in a random direction and smashing into a nearby wall. Kirby frowned and drew closer, provoking the ghost to attack with its translucent lance. Spark Kirby dodged several blows, weaving his way into close range before discharging a violent burst of electricity in the Ghost Knight's face. The Ghost Knight vanished with a crackling sound.

An ear-splitting shriek suddenly cut through the room. The torch that Fumu held abruptly fell to the floor, tumbling along the icy ground. Kirby ran forward before stopping in his tracks, mouth open. A Ghost Knight floated inches above the ground. Above it, Fumu was suspended in midair. The lance had pierced through her body, impaling her through the chest. She hung suspended on the lance, limp, her green eyes open and glazed over.

"FUMU!" Kirby cried, tears stinging his eyes. Fueled by desperation, he attacked the Ghost Knight repeatedly. The Ghost Knight quickly evaporated, having been too focused on Fumu to dodge Kirby's blows. Fumu fell to the ground limply, landing face-up. Kirby ran to her side, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Sis?! SIS!" Bun cried, hovering over his sister next to Kirby. Kirby pawed at Fumu's body desperately. To his surprise, the lance disappeared with the Ghost Knight and her body appeared to be whole and unharmed, with no wounds. However, she was not moving. Bun grabbed Fumu's limp hand and held it in his, fingers gently pressed against her wrist.

"Her heart...there's no heartbeat!" Bun screamed.

Kirby hopped from one foot to another, trying to figure out what to do. This could not be happening; he could not lose Fumu. With the battle still raging around them, Kirby quickly leaned down and began to remove Fumu's coat.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Bun demanded.

Kirby ignored Bun, unbuttoning layer after layer of clothing until Fumu's bare chest was exposed. He closed his eyes, grimacing as he tried to remember what he saw on Channel DDD's medical show D.R. He placed his hands over her bare chest carefully, left hand under her collarbone and right hand near the ribcage. He then squeezed his eyes shut, said a quick and silent prayer to the stars, and delivered a mild shock.

Fumu's body twitched slightly, muscles spasming. Kirby then stood on his tiptoes and proceeded to press down on the center of Fumu's chest in quick, rhythmic pumps for a few tense seconds. He put an ear to her chest, ice-cold tears running down his round face as he listened to her body hopefully.

Kirby emitted a sudden cry, hopping to his feet and pumping his fist into the air. Bun's angry expression melted into one of relief as Kirby looked back at him, patting his own chest several times in emphasis.

"No way...no way!" Bun cried, smiling through his tears. Bun quickly ran over to Fumu while Kirby buttoned her already chilled body back up. Bun slipped off his glove before laying two fingers on the side of Fumu's neck.

"Her heart...it's beating again...Kirby..." Bun managed to say before devolving into unintelligible sobbing.

Bun now understood what Kirby was doing; he held his hands to her and delivered a shock, using his Spark ability as a defibrillator. Kirby smiled at Bun, rushing back into the fray as soon as Fumu was properly buttoned up in her coat again. Bun cradled his unconscious sister, shivering and crying as Kirby waded back into the mass of animated bodies surrounding them.

Sword, Blade and Meta Knight gained the upper hand against the remaining undead, Kirby delivering a deadly shock to each body to make sure they could not rise again. The second the last reanimated body fell Kirby ran back over to Fumu, both hands over his mouth in concern. Bun held the fallen torch in one hand, holding his sister protectively with the other. Bun looked up at the green-skinned Star Warrior. He opened and closed his mouth twice, finding it difficult to put into words what he wanted to say.

"Kirby" Bun choked out, "She's...alive. You saved her life."

"Saved her life?! What happened?" Sword asked, leaning in. Blade watched on from father away, his posture slumped and one hand held over his wounded and bloody arm.

Bun relayed what happened with the Ghost Knight; the attack, Fumu falling over, and Kirby using his Spark ability to jump-start her heart back to life.

"Incredible...how did you learn to do all of that?" Blade asked Kirby.

Kirby waved his arms in the air happily in response. "DDD!"

Sword raised a hidden eyebrow. "No way. King Dedede taught you how a defibrillator works?"

Bun shook his head. "I think he means _Channel _DDD. There's this one show Kirby watches all the time, and it's about doctors in an emergency room. They do that all the time on that show with the little metal thing with pads. I think he picked it up from there."

"Never thought I'd say this, but thank the Stars for TV!" Sword commented.

Meta Knight's eyes widened in surprise, turning to glance at Kirby. With the battle over, Kirby's skin began to fade back to its neutral pink tone as the electric crown on his head slowly dissipated. Meta Knight seemed to find a new reason to be surprised by Kirby's abilities every day; he not only chose the best weapon possible to attack the undead, but he also learned to use his electric shock ability to save another's life. The stoic veteran's eyes glowed blue as he stared at the boy.

"Kirby" Meta Knight began. Kirby flinched in surprise at the sudden touch of Meta Knight's gloved hand on his shoulder. Meta Knight patted it twice before his hand slipped away, wrapping himself back up in his cape.

"Good work."


	10. Chapter 10

The group stood around the blocked-off entrance, Bun still seated and cradling his unconscious sister in one arm. Meta Knight gently took the torch from Bun's hand. His yellow eyes carefully scanned the pile of debris blocking their exit, looking for any possible way to get out. He noted that despite there being many rocks, there were also blocks of pure ice…ice which could be melted away. The veteran looked at his own torch warily; this was his last one. If Fire Kirby lost his ability, the group would have no light or warmth at all. If it went out before Kirby could burn a way through the icy cavern, they would be stuck in the dark until they slowly died from cold and hunger. His eyes flickered.

"Kirby" Meta Knight stated, voice tense as he addressed the boy. "This is our last torch. We need you to become Fire Kirby and melt the ice to get us out of here."

Sword and Blade eyed each other nervously. They knew exactly what Meta Knight was implying when he let Kirby know that the torch he carried was his last.

Kirby exhaled slowly. Although he usually had boundless energy, he had been through a lot over the past few hours and wanted nothing more than a nap. Even his youthful energy was nearly completely sapped. However, he knew that if he did not pull through this final time that the entire group would suffer a slow death.

"Okay" Kirby replied with a nod, clearly winded but understanding the urgency of the situation.

Meta Knight held up the torch, squaring his feet and stabbing Galaxia's point into the icy ground in preparation for the intense suction he was about to feel. Within a second the torch was gone from his hand as Kirby again transformed.

"Stand back" Blade cautioned, everyone else moving away from the pile of debris. He knew that when the ice at the bottom of the pile was melted that the foundation of the rock and ice would be disturbed, possibly triggering the rest to fall on them.

The rest of the group began to move back a few feet, standing as far away from the blocked entrance as they could without being too far from Fire Kirby's light to see. Bun started to move, but realized that Fumu was still unconscious. He tried to help her to her feet, but she limply fell back into his arms again. Bun nervously checked her pulse; she was still alive.

Meta Knight walked over to Bun, looking at the two. "She is still recovering" he noted.

With a grunt of effort, Meta Knight bent down and rested Fumu's unconscious body over his shoulder. The girl laid over his cold metal spaulder, feet facing forward while her head and hands were draped limply across his back. Bun watched what the Star Warrior did and smiled; he would have carried Fumu himself, but he did not have the strength.

Fire Kirby turned to his task, brows furrowed. He picked his first spot to work on; a large, solid chunk of ice that did not appear to have any rock in it. It was impossible to melt solid stone, but if he weakened enough of the ice there would probably be enough room for the group to exit. Kirby took a deep breath, his entire body inflating slightly, before unleashing a torrent of white-hot flame straight at the ice. Steam began to erupt from the ice, causing a white mist to cloud the darkened area. Even with the immense temperature of Kirby's flame, the ice took time to melt. Slowly, the gigantic block of ice began to give way to Kirby's focused attack. Kirby paused for less than a second, inhaling, to again blow fire at the ice. After several minutes, the large frozen chunk began to grow smaller and smaller.

Meta Knight's eyes flashed. His feet began to vibrate.

"The rocks are going to fall!" Meta Knight cried, stepping back until he was bathed in complete darkness. The others followed suit, grouping together in order to find each other in the darkness as they moved as far away from the doorway as possible.

The rumbling began to grow. Fire Kirby leaped backward, leaving a blazing trail behind him as the tightly-packed group of ice and rock at the doorway began to fall. With a terrific crash that startled the entire group, the ice and rock plunged forward at once and scattered across the floor. As Bun scrambled farther back he tripped over one of the frozen undead bodies, letting out a clipped scream as he fell face-to-face with a decapitated head.

The room again fell silent. After about a minute of huddling together in a shivering heap, the party began to glance at the entranceway. Fire Kirby stepped forward first, willing to melt more ice if it was necessary. However, the rocks fell in a way that there was a small hole that everyone could climb through towards the top of the door.

"Good work" Sword said, nodding approvingly at the red-skinned Star Warrior. Fire Kirby smiled in response, wiping the evaporating sweat from his heated brow; he had done it. They could be free.

"Be very careful" Meta Knight warned as the group began to walk forward. "The rocks could still be unstable."

"I'll go first" Sword said. "I'm covered in armor, so even if the floor fell through I would feel it a lot less."

Meta Knight gave a terse nod in response. Kirby stood close by to the rocks with his fiery crown functioning as a flashlight as Sword walked forward, preparing to climb. He gingerly stepped on the first rock, cautiously putting weight on it while his other foot remained on the floor to test its stability. He then reached out to a rock above him with a gloved hand, again putting weight on it cautiously to make sure that it would not give way. Sword proceeded to climb up the icy rocks, making his way towards the narrow hole towards the top of the doorway. Upon reaching it, Sword laid on his belly and carefully shimmied through the hole. At one point, the tip of his long helmet scraped across the narrow ceiling. The swordsman froze.

"You okay?" Blade called to him.

"Fine" Sword replied shakily after a brief pause, registering what the feeling on his helmet was from. He continued to crawl until he made it through to the other side. Sword descended in total darkness, Fire Kirby's light blocked by the debris. He lost his grip and slid down the last couple of feet of ice, slowly gliding to a stop on the icy floor.

"I'm okay" Sword called out wearily across the blockage. "It's safe."

"Let's make sure the children make it across safely, then" Meta Knight said. "Bun – you go first."

"M-me?" Bun asked timidly. Meta Knight focused his unblinking gaze on the small boy.

"It'll be okay" Blade said reassuringly. "Sword made it across just fine, and you're smaller and lighter. Just climb up and he'll be there for you on the other side."

Bun pulled around his scarf where it met his neck with one finger, loosening it nervously. "Well, okay. Here goes."

Bun climbed upwards in a faster, more panicky manner than Sword did, straining his memory in an attempt to use the same exact handholds Sword did. When he reached the top, Bun slid on his belly through the hole on all fours. When he reached the other side, he momentarily froze while bathed in darkness. He could not see the ground, or what he was even grabbing onto.

"It's okay, just feel for handholds as you make your way down. I'm here for you" Sword called to him from below.

Bun squeezed his eyes shut, grit his teeth, and quickly climbed down the pile of rocks and ice to meet Sword at the bottom. Blade made the climb next, more slowly than the other two due to his wounded arm. He emitted a stifled yelp in pain as he extended his wounded arm upwards to grab a rock, fresh blood from the wound tricking backwards down his arm and into his tunic. He made it through the entrance and down the other side in the same way Sword did.

Meta Knight glanced upwards. He, Kirby, and the unconscious Fumu were the last people left behind. Meta Knight rubbed the part of his mask where his chin would be in thought; Fumu was obviously in no condition to climb up on her own.

"Sword" Meta Knight called through the barrier, choosing the less wounded of his two comrades. "Climb up to the entrance by the other side so you can help Fumu down."

"Yes, Sir!" Sword said.

Sword swallowed reflexively, as if pushing down the growing fear in his gut as he climbed the wall on the other side in almost complete darkness. He clutched the rock precariously on the other side as Meta Knight carefully climbed the rocky slope, slower and clumsier than the others due to having to carry a body at the same time. At one point, one his violet sabatons slipped on a patch of ice slick with a thin layer of water from Fire Kirby's heat. He slid down a few inches before catching himself, heart hammering wildly. A small fall for the armored knight would be a minor inconvenience, but Fumu falling while unconscious would be far more dangerous. After making sure he was secure, Meta Knight continued to ascend. When he reached the small hole where the others exited through, Meta Knight carefully removed Fumu from his back. He pushed the limp girl through the opening, feet facing him.

"Grab her arms" Meta Knight instructed, balancing awkwardly on the rocks as he gently slid Fumu through their makeshift hole.

"Got her!" Sword cried, his gloved hands gently gripping Fumu's arms. He hauled her forward, carefully wrapping one arm around to hold her under her arms before making his way back down. Meta Knight crawled into the free space as soon as Fumu was gone, feeling the frilled tip of his cape drag against the narrow icy wall. Meta Knight took rapid, strained breaths; although not claustrophobic, he was surrounded on all sides by rock and ice and one cave-in away from being trapped there. Finally, Sword landed with Fumu safely in his other arm and let Meta Knight know that it was safe to descend. The blue Star Warrior hurried through the hole and climbed down, bright yellow eyes shining in the darkness.

"Kirby" Meta Knight called, deep voice echoing through the ice. "You can come now."

"Coming!" Kirby cried. He scurried up the wall, faster than the others as his fingerless hands effortlessly found handholds. He slipped through the hole, emerging through to the other side through a cloud of steam as his fiery crown melted the ceiling of the icy hole he crawled through. He began to descend, the others watching him with bated breath. Fire Kirby paused halfway down, carefully feeling around him with his feet in order to find a suitable foothold. As he stood, the ice he gripped began to melt from the immense heat his body gave off. Kirby's hands slipped loose, causing him to fall backward. He tumbled down a few feet, landing on his back on the floor with a cry of pain. The others swarmed around him.

"You okay?" Blade asked.

Kirby sat up after a couple of seconds, dazed but whole, an ugly bruise already forming where his back hit the icy floor.

"I'm okay!" Kirby replied, making a pained smile.

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief; everyone had made it out of what could have been their tomb. However, their troubles were just beginning. Meta Knight frowned as he thought, gently taking Fumu from Sword's hands as he again held her over his shoulder. The Necromancer had the Orb, and he had a massive head start to wherever he was going with it. No matter how weary they were, they could not rest.

The group silently walked forward, their pace as quick as possible in order to prevent the undead from rising from the ground or walls around them upon sensing life. Kirby grimaced as he emitted heat, using his last reserves of energy for the sake of the group. The thing that kept him going, besides his friends, was thinking of all of the delicious food he could have when he returned to Popstar. He tried to focus on that instead of the bleak scene in front of him, trudging forward through the freezing cave.

Fumu was gently jostled with each footstep, Meta Knight holding her carefully as he walked. After a while, her green eyes slowly blinked open. All she saw was the ice below her, Bun walking close by. Still half-lucid, she realized only that she was being carried. Her fragmented mind thought that it must have been Parm giving her a piggyback ride. Why was her silly old dad carrying her? She's not a little girl anymore. Fumu gave a faint laugh and wiggled slightly, giving a weak kick as she tried to get herself down.

"Cut it out, dad" she said, half-consciously slurring.

Meta Knight looked up, a thin line of frost coating his mask and gathering around the visor. He raised a hidden eyebrow.

"Dad?" Meta Knight asked.

Fumu's eyes snapped open upon hearing his voice. She realized who was carrying her and flailed about weakly, causing Meta Knight to gently lower the arm that held her until she reached the ground.

Fumu stumbled forward weakly, Meta Knight catching her arm before she could fall over onto the ice. She blushed slightly as recent memories came back to her, realizing that she must have accidentally called Meta Knight her father.

"Sis! You're okay!" Bun cried, running over to his sister. Kirby jumped for joy and joined him, the two facing Fumu.

"I'm okay. I'm okay?" Fumu wondered aloud, her green eyes becoming less vacant as she became more coherent. Her gaze hardened as she rested them on Bun, causing her eager brother to draw back. He knew that look.

"What happened?" Fumu asked.

Bun made a big, fake toothy smile as he stammered. "Um, ah...you got really tired and fell asleep for a while. That's why Sir Meta Knight was carrying you. But you're awake now!"

Fumu's gaze hardened as she looked through Bun's bangs, meeting his concealed eyes.

"What happened." Fumu stated a second time, the words now phrased less like a question and more like a command. She knew when her little brother was lying.

Bun shuffled his feet, smile falling as he looked downwards. "Well..a Ghost Knight got you back there. But Spark Kirby put his hands on you just like the doctors on that D.R show do and brought you back to life."

Fumu's feet quaked, eyes widening. She put a hand to her chest.

"Back...back to life?" Fumu asked timidly. She looked to the others, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Your heart stopped" Meta Knight stated simply.

Fumu grew quiet, the hand on her chest beginning to quake. She removed her gloved hand and examined it as it trembled. She slowly closed her hand into a fist, overwhelmed.

"Kirby, I..." Fumu said in a tiny voice. Fire Kirby looked at her, tilting his round body in response.

Fumu walked over and kneeled downwards, giving her friend a tight hug. Kirby hugged her back with his tiny arms, nuzzling into her pink coat. The crown of flame on top of Kirby's head surged higher as the two embraced, tears running down his red cheeks as his fiery body evaporated them halfway. He wished he could express how happy he was, how Fumu felt as much of a big sister to him as she probably did to Bun.

"Fumu" Kirby murmured tearfully, his words muffled as his face was buried into her coat.

Fumu smiled. She knew what he was trying to say.

Meta Knight shifted. "Fumu...if you can walk on your own, we need to get moving."

Fumu rose to her feet, still clearly shaky but no longer needing support. She understood what Meta Knight was saying; Fire Kirby standing in place would just cause more frozen mummies to erupt from the ice.

"You're right, Sir. I'm fine", Fumu responded, weakly smiling at the others in an attempt to reassure them. "Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

Fire Kirby looked up, weary blue eyes squinting at the sight of a thin ray of light beyond the tunnel. The group, which formed a tight circle around the Star Warrior, lifted their eyes to the light one by one. Before them lied the thin crevasse that led outside, sunbeams shining through the crack and stretching a few feet into the cave. At last, after slogging through the cold for hours, the party had reached the exit. Immediately upon seeing the entrance Fire Kirby's crown winked out, flames shrinking to nothing as his cherry-red skin began to fade to its natural pink color. Kirby's mouth hung open as he panted from exhaustion, swiping a hand across his eyes as his tired face broke into a grin.

"Out!" Kirby cried, pointing to the sunlit entrance. He began to trot quickly, eager to leave the miserable cave behind.

Bun grinned broadly and picked up his pace to match Kirby's, the two boys leaving the others behind in their rush to escape.

"Woooo! Freedom!" Bun cried, pumping a fist into the air.

Meta Knight said nothing as he continued to press forward steadily, giving the slightest nod in response. Sword and Blade looked at each other, smiles hidden beneath their helmets; everyone was eager to leave the frigid hellhole behind. Kirby exited the cave first, eyes closing instinctively as the bright sun hit him. He blinked rapidly, tiny black spots dancing at the edge of his vision as his eyes adjusted to the change. Bun exited the cave next, lifting his wool hat and tilting his head upwards to gaze at the sun. Sword, Blade and Meta Knight slipped through the crevasse afterward, with Fumu leaving last. Her gaze followed Bun's, ignoring the pain the sunlight brought her eyes after hours of darkness. A lump formed in her throat, cold tears stinging the edge of her eyes; it was not until she looked at the sun that she realized how close she came to never seeing daylight again.

The joy the group felt upon seeing sunlight again was quickly dimmed as they realized that the Necromancer's ship was already gone. The twisted ex-Galaxy Soldier, after exiting the cave, had apparently taken off with his prize in tow. Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape after stretching briefly, cold unblinking gaze resting on the spot where the Necromancer's ship one sat. The Necromancer had the Orb. He had won.

The group reentered the Makhaira single-file, Meta Knight taking the lead with Sword and Blade behind him. The blue Star Warrior said nothing as he stepped back into the bronze spaceship. Already his mind was moving forward, wondering what the group's next step should be. Meta Knight was relieved when the Makhaira's door slid open to reveal an intact interior; the ship had not been looted, pillaged, or destroyed. The Necromancer appeared to simply take off. Perhaps he was in as much of a hurry to leave the accursed planet as they were.

As the children began to remove their bulky winter clothing, Meta Knight hovered over Sword and Blade. He peered over their armored shoulders as they sat at the ship's front console. The Necromancer's ship signature was still saved, but Meta Knight was concerned. If the ship had traveled too far away, they would never be able to track the Necromancer. A gloved hand gently pressed against a part of the ship's console, tapping out a rapid sequence of button presses. At once the screen showed a vast circular grid, shaped like a bulls-eye. Meta Knight's eyes lit up, flashing a vibrant green.

"There he is", Meta Knight stated, the excitement clear in his usually level voice.

Blade tilted his head as he leaned forward, eyeing the radar. "Is he really...?"

Sword tore his gaze away from what he was focusing on, frantically trying to get the ship ready for takeoff so that they could pursue the Necromancer's ship. He looked at the radar, nodding.

"Looks like he is", Sword replied.

"He is what?" Bun asked curiously, looking up as he slid out of his thick, ice-encrusted coat.

Meta Knight turned slightly, looking at the children out of the corner of his eye.

"It appears as if the Necromancer is heading back to Popstar."

"Why would he do that?" Fumu wondered aloud as Bun helped her out of her winter clothes. Ever since they had boarded the ship, Bun refused to let Fumu do anything even slightly strenuous.

"Why wouldn't he?" Meta Knight responded, turning his head back away from them to again glance at the radar.

Blade twisted his body to lean his arm over the top of his chair, looking behind him to face Fumu and Bun.

"I get it" Blade mused aloud. "The Necromancer thinks that without us, Dreamland is helpless. Popstar doesn't have much in the way of defenses – it's just a bunch of peaceful Cappies and Waddle Dees. If he wanted to take over entire planets, why not start with the one which he believes no longer has any defenses?"

"I can't imagine Popstar having anything he would want after he stole that weird museum doll" Sword added with a nod. "The only reason he could want to go there is to take it over. To use the Necromantic Orb as a plaything against defenseless people. Disgusting."

"Buckle in extra tight" Blade called as he swung back around in his chair, facing the console. "We're going after this monster at max speed."

Fumu smiled as Bun fussed over her, the boy guiding her to her seat and strapping her in carefully. She was surprised to see such a rare side of her brother – the same boy that teased her and ran away with her stuff just to make her mad, the last member of the household to concede to chores, was now doting on her like a mother over her newborn.

"Thanks, Bun. I'm fine, really" Fumu said sheepishly.

Bun waved his hand at her in response. "Don't worry Sis, I got this." he said, securing her buckle before standing back. "When it's safe to be unbuckled, I'll bring you some food. Okay?"

Fumu felt her cheeks redden slightly with embarrassment, feeling like a young child. She was the big sister; she was the one who was usually taking care of things. Despite herself, she smiled. She knew it was because Bun was worried about her.

"Okay" Fumu said with a smile, nodding at him.

Bun looked at Kirby, who had already beelined to the ship's food stores and was having a field day, and grimaced. With Fumu already strapped in, it was up to Bun to corral him.

"H-hey, Kirby! Don't go nuts, that food has to last us the whole trip back!" Bun cried, running after the Star Warrior.

Fumu chuckled lightly in her seat. Now Bun knew how she felt.

After no small amount of effort, Bun pulled poor starving Kirby away from the ship's provisions and secured him into a seat. Meta Knight returned to the seat he kept previously as Bun strapped himself in, reaching above his head to stretch as he grabbed the top of his thickly padded harness.

Sword and Blade wasted no time getting the Makhaira into the air. The ship flew through the chilled air of Star's Fall, ascending into the atmosphere in record time. The two armored warriors pushed the ship to its maximum speed, hurtling towards Popstar in an attempt to keep the Necromancer's ship in their sights.

"Popstar isn't entirely defenseless..." Fumu piped up as she ate her food, breaking the silence which fell upon the ship.

The ship's four passengers had all received their meal after the ship reached its desired height. The choices, all of which consisted of bland rehydratable ship rations, were still received enthusiastically by the starving group. The two pilots, Sword and Blade, both refused to eat. The swordsmen staved off their hunger purposely in order to keep navigating the ship without pause.

"Unless Captain Waddle Doo and his band of soldiers are stronger than we think, it kind of is" Bun replied between forkfuls of his rehydrated beef. The sorry cube of meat looked and tasted like a frozen meal from hell, but the boy was so hungry that he didn't care.

"What about King Dedede himself?" Fumu asked. "He's really good with that hammer of his."

"We're dealing with a Necromancer, Sis. And his army of undead monsters" Bun shot back. "Do you really think the same King who was scared of me in a sheet is going to stand up to real ghosts?"

Fumu dragged her fork along her plate, pushing her food into two piles as her gaze was cast downward. "Good point. After what happened in Pupu Village, King Dedede probably already booked a one-way ticket to the Float Islands."

"Maybe Escargon could talk them to death" Bun remarked.

A brief "Heh" could be heard from behind the three youths. Sitting in the final row and facing away from the group, Meta Knight chuckled at Bun's joke. His mask was lifted just enough to reveal his mouth, back turned from the group in the chair as he ate.

Kirby sat across from Fumu, looking sorrowfully at his empty plate. His portion did absolutely nothing to satiate the enormous hunger he worked up in the cave, even after managing to shove three unprepared freeze-dried bags of food into his mouth before Bun stopped him. Kirby's deep blue eyes glanced upward at the ship's front window hopefully, eager to see Popstar again. He had had it with this trip; he was pushed to the brink of exhaustion, frozen, nearly killed, and to top it all off the food was awful even by his standards.

Fumu noticed Kirby's unusually glum expression and passed the remaining bit of food on her plate to him, hand reaching across the aisle. Kirby's gaze immediately lit up, inhaling Fumu's entire plate of food in an instant. Fumu smiled slightly. Kirby saved her life; it was the least she could do.

The group rested after finishing their meals, dozing off in their chairs as the Makhaira flew through space. It was not long before the shimmering yellow planet known as Popstar filled their field of vision. Meta Knight stood and walked forward, taking the last opportunity to look at the radar before he would have to be secured in his seat again for landing. His eyes narrowed.

"Odd..." the blue Star Warrior murmured through his mask, eyes narrowing. "He may be on Popstar, but he is not in Dreamland."

Fumu rose to her feet, walking over to the ship's front console and peering over Meta Knight's armored shoulder. The radar was zoomed in, now displaying a rough map of Popstar instead of space. Fumu's green eyes widened.

"I know where he's going!" Fumu exclaimed. Meta Knight looked at her questioningly.

"That region is the site of one of the planet's biggest ruins. There was once a great city there that got mysteriously wiped out, leaving nothing but bones and pottery" Fumu stated, recognizing the area from her history books.

"Bones..." Meta Knight mused.

"I bet he chose that site on purpose, to raise a bunch of undead monsters to take over Popstar with" Sword growled, briefly looking up from the ship's controls. "But why bother? Between the power he already had and the Necromantic Orb, he could probably waltz into every settlement on Popstar and wipe them out in one hit."

Meta Knight's eyes began to glint green. After a long pause, he spoke. "I think I know what the Necromancer wants now."

A gloved hand appeared from within the folds of Meta Knight's cape. He turned and pointed at the younger Star Warrior, who busied himself by desperately licking the last bit of sauce from his spoon.

"You." Meta Knight addressed Kirby.

Kirby looked up upon hearing his name, slowly setting the spoon down. "Me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Sir, I don't think Kirby understands...and neither do I" Fumu chimed in, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She hated it when Meta Knight spoke cryptically.

Meta Knight turned his back to the three, looking out of the ship's front window as he stood still between Sword and Blade. The bright planet reflected a dim yellow light on the stoic veteran's mask.

"Suppose we lived..." Meta Knight began. "Suppose we survived that ordeal in the ice cave and followed the Necromancer. Instead of catching him off-guard, he could amass an army of undead to prepare for us. Instead of having just touched the Necromantic Orb, he could have time to master it better by the time we struck again. Now, what could such a powerful being want?"

Meta Knight again looked at Kirby from the side of his mask. "More soldiers. The most powerful he could get. After all, not all planets are as peaceful as Popstar. It is obvious that undead soldiers carry their skill with them beyond the grave, proving far more dangerous than civilians...who would make a more dangerous puppet than Kirby?"

Fumu's face paled. "Oh no... you're saying that he predicted our escape and is heading back to Popstar to set up a trap for us? That's impossible! He'd have to be psychic!"

"Not necessarily" Blade said. "If we can see the Necromancer's ship on our radar, he can see us on his own. It was impossible to hide our position, since we had to pursue him so quickly in order to catch up to him. Before, we were able to stay out of his range because we knew where he was headed. Instead of obviously following him, we just headed to where he was also going."

"He must have seen us on the radar and changed his course to Popstar in order to lure us in. Bastard" Sword spat.

"If that's the case, we're walking into a trap" Fumu muttered, biting onto her knuckle from nerves. "We can't just follow him in without a plan. That would be suicide. We need to be able to combat the Necromantic Orb's power somehow."

The entire group fell silent. Kirby stuck the spoon into his mouth and sucked on it thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he took it out and hopped out of his chair excitedly.

"Love love!" Kirby cried.

Fumu put a hand behind her neck, smiling at Kirby despite the tense situation. "We love you too Kirby, but now's not the time..."

Kirby shook his head defiantly, huffing. "No...Love love!"

"What on earth is he try-" Fumu's green eyes widened. "Love-Love...the Love-Love stick! The ancient artifact also known as the Heart Rod! Kirby, that's a great idea!" she said with a broad grin.

Kirby hopped from one foot to another, clapping his small hands above his head cheerfully upon his friend understanding what he was trying to say. Fumu began to pace excitedly, much to Bun's consternation.

"The Necromantic Orb harnesses the essence of death...the Heart Rod harnesses the essence of life! It may be enough to defeat him. But there's one problem..." Fumu continued, slowing her pace to a stop and looking upwards thoughtfully.

"The Heart Rod is not a mere weapon to be swung like a sword. Legend says it is only activated by cumulative power, by the love and compassion of many channeled into the rod... we don't have time to preform acts of compassion throughout the land to wake it up."

Meta Knight turned to face Fumu, yellow eyes boring into her without blinking. "Perhaps a single, grand act of compassion would do?"

Fumu scratched her head. "I don't know...the legends didn't mention it. But maybe it would work."

Meta Knight continued to eye her, causing the girl to shift uncomfortably. "And where is this Heart Rod?"

"I believe Curio has it" Fumu responded. "It was meant to be the centerpiece of the Pupu Village Museum...oh no." A hand flew to Fumu's mouth as she paused, eyes widening.

"You don't think it got burned up in the fire, Sis...do you?" Bun inquired timidly.

"Well...we saw the entire museum that one day way back, during our field trip. The Heart Rod wasn't there then. Maybe Curio kept it to himself" Fumu uttered nervously. "We need to talk to him."

"Sword. Blade" Meta Knight stated tersely, turning his intense gaze away from Fumu. "Stop following the Necromancer and head towards the village instead."

"Yes, Sir" Sword and Blade replied in unison as their ship drew nearer to Popstar's atmosphere, adjusting their course to land further north on the planet's surface.


End file.
